A Touch of Insanity
by justwriteit1
Summary: Lucinda "Lucy" Gilbert is Elena's older twin sister. Its the second part of senior year and she's finds herself back in the middle of all the supernatural drama Mystic Falls holds. What else should she expect? She is a witch. As well as that, she has to battle her feelings towards a certain Original...
1. The Change

_The Change_

I poured the coffee into the mug slowly. I wasn't having the best of days. My sister was _dead_, well, in transition to becoming a vampire. My family was becoming weirder by the day. At first, I was the weird one. I was the witch. Then Stefan told us that Elena was a doppelganger, and then Jeremy started seeing ghosts, which resulted in him kissing his _properly dead _vampire ex-girlfriend, while he was with Bonnie, a witch.

Add that to the fact that two one-hundred-and-something year old vampires were pining over my sister, despite the two of them sleeping with our ancestor and one of them sleeping with our _mom_.

My best friend, Caroline, was a vampire and her boyfriend, Tyler was a hybrid (werewolf-vampire all in one). My adoptive father/uncle was also a vampire hunter-slash-doctor.

My sister wasn't the only one with a very weird, vampiric love-life. Apparently, Klaus the Hybrid 'fancied' me. I didn't believe him. He wanted me for my powers. But it seemed like a lot of effort to get someone's powers.

If someone had told me in sophmore year that this would be my life in two more years, I would have called them crazy. Most of my friends were vampires or hybrids or witches, like me. Except for Matt. He was as human as it gets.

I went up to Elena's room, sipping my mug of coffee. I heard them talking, I heard Elena talking. She was actually a vampire. As a witch, I was supposed to hate vampires. Bonnie did, kinda. But I couldn't. I liked Damon and Stefan, and Caroline was one of my best friends. Bonnie hated the species, not the people. Maybe hate was too strong a word...

I pushed open the door. Elena was awake. I smiled at her.

"You're awake," I said.

She looked anxious. "I'm in transition, Lucy!" she exclaimed, panicking. "No, no, no, no! This wasn't supposed to happen!"

"Maybe it doesn't have to," Stefan said. "I talked to Bonnie, she says she's stronger than ever, there might be something that she can do to help you."

"Last time I talked to her she said something about your spirit existing on both sides, and that she can drag your human spirit into your current form," I explained, not very well apparently, as Damon, Stefan and Elena were all looking at me with confused expressions.

"Lucy doesn't even know what she's talking about," he said. I rolled my eyes. Sometimes Damon was so frustrating! "No, the only thing that's going to help is for you to feed and complete the transition."

"We have all day before she has to feed, Damon," Stefan said. "That's a day to exhaust every possible way out of this."

"There is no way out of it. We all know the drill. You feed or you die. There is no door number three," Damon replied.

"There might be," I said. "I'm not ready to give up and let my sister become a vampire. We're going to fix this. We have to find a way."

While we were arguing, Elena had started to cry. "I was ready to die. I was supposed to die. I don't – I don't want to be – I can't be a vampire! If there's something that Bonnie can do we have to try."

"We will," Stefan answered. "We'll try everything."

I nodded in agreement.

Damon scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Your choice, Elena. As always."

Damon got up and left. _Dick_. I looked at Elena, who still had tears streaming down her face. I jumped into the bed with her. Stefan gave me a small smile before following Damon. I wrapped my arms around my younger twin. We hadn't done this in ages.

"I'm becoming a vampire, Lucy," she sobbed. "I don't want this."

"That's why we're going to find a way out of this," Lucy answered. "Bonnie's more powerful than ever, and I'll help her."

"Will you hate me? If I become a vampire?" she said. "Will Jeremy? Or Bonnie?"

"No," I replied. "No. Of course not. You didn't ask for this."

Although I wanted to save my sister from an eternity of guilt, I also wanted to save my dad an eternity of shame. It may sound cruel, but my dad wouldn't have wanted Elena to become one of the 'monsters' he had hunted.

I had to save her. She and Jeremy were the only people I had left.

* * *

"Elena's taking this hard," Jeremy said. "I mean, she pretends she's okay, but-"

"She's really not," I finished. "Its how Elena is. I suppose thats something we all have in common. We never handle how we feel properly."

I placed a glass of orange juice in front of him and sat down on the chair beside him. We sat in silence, left to our thoughts until Jeremy broke the silence.

"Do you think Bonnie can fix this?" he asked.

I sighed. "I don't know, Jer," I answered. "I hope she can, but there's still a pretty large chance that it won't work. Nobody has done this before."

"I don't want her to become one of _them_," he said. "The towns already crawling with them."

"I know," I placed my hand on his reassuringly.

Elena came into the kitchen, Stefan behind her.

"Hey," I said. "How are you doing?"

"I haven't had blood, but God its hard to not think about it!" Elena said. She pulled out two slices of bread from the bread pan and took out some ingredients from the fridge.

Jeremy stood up. "I'm gonna go upstairs," he said. "I have a - uh - I have to do an assignment." He shot Stefan a glare that I barely noticed.

"Is it always like this?" Elena asked once Jeremy left the room. She seemed to be taking her frustration and hunger out on the sandwich. I never saw someone squirt mayo on a sandwich so vigorously.

"It gets easier," Stefan answered. "Your body wants you to survive, so its pushing you to drink blood."

"Does ketchup help?" I asked Stefan. "You know... since its red?"

He looked at me as if I was an alien. I was being perfectly logical. "No. The only thing that can soothe the cravings that's not blood is alcohol."

"Great! So lets break out Damon's bourbon supply," I suggested.

Elena had finished making her delicious sandwich.

And it looked horrible.

She took a bite of the sandwich and chewed.

"It's disgusting," Stefan stated.

"Geez, Stef, she's trying here," I said. "But it does look horrible."

"No it's, um…"

"It's disgusting," Stefan repeated.

"It kinda is," I added. It looked like... _yuck._

"Yeah, I'm gonna puke," Elena spat the sandwich out into a napkin.

"I never thought I'd be saying this, but I can't stop thinking about blood," Elena said.

_Well maybe it has something to do with the fact that you're a vampire?_

"I should have saved you first. You shouldn't be going through this right now," Stefan said.

"No, if you had saved me, then Matt would be dead," Elena replied. "What do you think I'd be going through then?"

Stefan poured himself a drink and took a sip. Elena walked over to him.

"Stefan, listen to me. You did the right thing. You did what you always do; you respected my choice."

"And what am I supposed to do if Bonnie can't figure out a way to help you, huh? Because then you have another choice to make. Either let yourself die or be a vampire," Stefan said grimly.

"Well then, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," she said.

Elena paused for a sec, before laughing maniacally.

"Oh my God, did - did I just say 'cross that bridge'?"

Elena started laughing like a maniac after a quick pause.

"You're laughing," Stefan said. "I'm pretty sure you don't actually think that's funny."

Elena continued to laugh. "I – I can't stop though."

I snorted. "It is a bit funny though. I mean, considering our history with bridges."

"Her emotions are a bit heightened today. She doesn't mean to laugh," he said. He observed her for a bit. She was crazy. "A lot heightened."

Elena's laughter was replaced with tears all of a sudden. Stefan embraced her.

"Hey. Shh, shh. It's okay. It's okay," he reassured.

"I'm sorry. I…"

Stefan pulled away and caressed her face. I felt a little jealous. I shouldn't be feeling jealous.

"Listen to me. No matter what happens, I'm here for you. I can help you."

She nodded. "I'm sorry, Luce. I shouldn't have said that."

I smiled. "No, its okay. It was actually kind of funny."

She smiled back and looked out the window. She squinted her eyes due to the brightness of the sunlight.

"Why don't you go back upstairs where it's dark? I'll clean up."

Elena nodded and left, shielding her eyes from the sun.

I watched Stefan as he put away the ingredients. I probably should have helped, but I was too wrapped up in my thoughts to say anything.

As the day went by, I had became more realistic. Though I still hoped that we could turn Elena back into a human, it seemed less likely. No one had ever done it before, and I'm sure that there were many transitioning vampires with witchy family or friends with the same goal as us, and yet we hadn't heard of anyone ever saving a vampire in transition.

I lay down on my bed, reading _the Hunger Games: Catching Fire_. I decided to just have a few minutes of peace during this hectic time. Call me selfish. My peace was disturbed when my phone rang.

It was Damon. I pressed the answer button and held the phone up to my ear.

"Hello?"

_"Is Elena there?" _Damon asked urgently.

"I think so, wait."

I put down the book and rushed into Elena's room. I searched all the rooms, but she wasn't there.

"No, she's not. Why would she leave?" I questioned.

_"I don't know. I think she was taken by Pastor Young. They've taken Rebekah and Caroline too."_

"Pastor Young? Seriously? Pastor Young's a vampire hunter?" the thought was hilarious.

_"Ha ha_," he deadpanned. I heard the door open. _"I'm in your house. I'll see ya, Luce."_

I groaned and hung up. I knew Damon was old, but did he know of the wonderful inventions called 'doorbells'?

Yes, he did. He just liked barging into people's houses.

Meredith was with him. I smiled at her. "Hello, Lucy," she greeted.

I liked Meredith. Even though I originally thought she was a psycho dating Ric.

"Where's Elena?" I asked.

"Pastor Young has her," Damon replied. "Stefan too."

"Oh great," I said. "I take my eye off my transitioning-vampire sister for five minutes and she gets kidnapped."

Damon began picking up stuff that was knocked over in the commotion. The door opened and Sheriff Forbes came in. _Again with the barging-in!_

"They're gone. Whoever nailed Rebekah, took them too. Please tell me you have something. Anything," Damon practically begged.

Meredith, who had been in the kitchen, walked into the living room.

"I can't. The Council locked Carol and me out of our offices. Files, computers, everything," she said.

"So, the Mayor and the Sheriff never contemplated a backup plan, Liz?" Damon said, slightly irritated.

"Damon, relax. When Caroline called to say she got away; did she know where they were planning to take her?" Meredith asked.

Sheriff Forbes shook her head. "No. Just that she was in some van in the middle of nowhere and she managed to escape."

"Perfect. We've narrowed it down to nowhere," Damon said.

"Quit being so snappy," I scolded.

He rolled his eyes. Someone knocked at the door. I went to get it, but Matt opened it himself before I even touched the handle.

"You couldn't wait until I answered the door?" I asked him.

He snorted. "Hey, is Elena here?"

Damon turned around and rushes towards Matt. My heartbeat quickened. He grabbed him by the throat and pinned him against the wall, choking him.

"Damon!" I yelled.

"In what world are you the one that gets to live?"

"Quit it! Its not his fault, Damon!" I shouted and tried to pull Damon off him. You know, because I was totally as strong as a vampire.

_Wait. I'm a witch. Which means I'm able to do a locater spell to find Elena! Why didn't I think of this before? Oh yeah, Damon's killing Matt. I should really help the dude out._

I squinted my eyes at Damon. He stepped back, putting his hands on either side of his head and crying out in pain. Matt was breathing heavily. "Quit it, Lucy!"

I stopped giving him an aneurysm and rushed to Matt. "You alright?"

He nodded. He was trying to be all tough. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm going to do a locator spell," I declared. "While you were choking Matt, I remembered that I am a witch."

"Great timing," Damon scoffed, rubbing his head.

I got a map of Mystic Fals and grabbed Elena's keys from the kitchen and recited the spell. The tip of one of the keys pointed towards the Pastor's cattle ranch.

"The Pastor's cattle ranch," I said.

"It's remote, it's secluded," Meredith said. "I don't know how we didn't think of it."

"The pens could easily be modified," Matt added.

"Well, guess what? Looks like you get a chance to prove how sorry you really are. Let's go," he said. "You two Lucy," he called.

* * *

I was in the car with Matt and Damon when I got a text from Jeremy.

_Cudnt do it. Cum 2 d witch house._

"Drop me off at the witch house," I said.

Matt gave me a look that clearly said 'no, don't leave me with angry, psychotic vampire killer'. And I gave him an 'I'm sorry' look.

He let me off at the witch house. I went down to the basement.

"She said she's not strong enough," Jeremy said.

I looked around. Bonnie was there, Jeremy was there, so was Caroline and Tyler. _Tyler? _Tyler! Wasn't he supposed to be - uh - dead?

"Tyler?" I asked.

"Hello, love," he replied. "Maybe this witch can put me back?"

It didn't take me too long to realise. Someone had put Klaus into Tyler's body. So Klaus wasn't dead, but neither was Tyler. Which was a good thing.

"She's not strong enough, Klaus. She doesn't have access to the powers that I have," she said.

Gee thanks, Bonnie.

Bonnie had put Klaus in there, and now she couldn't get him out. I'd say Klaus wasn't too happy about staying in a weak - compared to him - hybrid's body.

"And if your so powerful, then why can't you do the simple spell?" Klaus said impatiently. "You were strong enough to put me in here, love. Surely, you're strong enough to get me out."

"I upset the spirits trying to save Elena," Bonnie replied. "I can't use that kind of magic again. It's too dangerous."

"Bonnie, do the bloody spell!" Klaus exclaimed.

"She said she can't so leave it," I snapped.

Klaus/Tyler shot me an angry look.

"We'll just wait until Bonnie can do it with traditional magic," I said.

Klaus ripped opened Tyler's shirt. He took a deep breath and began to grow claws on his right hand. He punctured Tyler's chest and grabbed his heart, ripping it out.

"What are you doing?" Caroline yelled, worried.

"Ripping Tyler's heart out," Klaus told her. "I'll jump into someone else." He turned towards Jeremy. "Maybe you."

"Oh my God," Bonnie exclaimed.

"You're hurting him! Stop! Stop!" Caroline screamed.

"He's bluffing," Jeremy said. "He needs a witch to do that."

"What makes you think I don't have one? Or ten? Pick, Bonnie! You or Tyler!" Klaus shouted.

Klaus had almost successfully torn open his chest.

"Stop it, Klaus, you're killing him!" I begged.

"Fine, I'll do it! Just stop," Bonnie agreed.

Klaus took his hand out from his chest. "Good. Let's begin."

Klaus pulled over a chair from the corner of the room and sat down on it. Bonnie stared at his head hesitantly.

"Well? What are you waiting for, _witch_?" he growled.

She took a deep breath and placed her hands on either side of Tyler's head. Caroline and Jeremy stared at them, worried. As did I. I read about this in one of Bonnie's ancestor's grimoires. Dark magic was prohibited and looked down on by witches. They didn't need help from the spirits and it enabled them to do bad spells.

"This is black magic. She shouldn't be doing this," Jeremy stated.

Tyler opened his eyes and looked up.

"Tyler?" Caroline said hopefully.

Tyler smiled. "Caroline. Hey."

He tried to get up, but fell down to the ground. "Tyler?" Caroline repeated, rushing to his side.

"Bonnie, what are you doing?" he asked Bonnie, who was continuing to chant.

I approached her, but stopped suddenly when she opened her eyes and gasped.

"Bonnie, it worked. Stop," Jeremy said.

She seemed to be holding hands with someone. "What's happening? Let me go!"

"Let me go!" she repeated.

"Bonnie? What's going on?" I asked.

Dark veins started protruding down Bonnie's arms.

"Okay, let her go!" she yelled.

"Bon?" I tried.

"I'm sorry, Grams! They can't do this to you! Please, don't do this to her!" Bonnie begged, tears in her eyes.

"Bonnie, stop!" Caroline exclaimed.

"No! No! Oh my God!" Bonnie feel down on her knees, crying. Jeremy got down next to her and tried to comfort her.

"What have I done?! What did I do?! What did I do? What did I do?"

* * *

Jeremy and I walked into the house, not speaking to each other. The spirits were getting back at Bonnie by hurting her Grams. I was growing less and less fond of them by the day.

As soon as he opened the door, Jeremy rushed upstairs. I sighed and went into the living room. Elena was lying on the couch, watching television.

"I'm a vampire, Lucy," she said monotonously. "What would Mum and Dad think?"

I sighed and sat on the coffee table in front of the couch. "They'd be a little upset," I answered, "but they'd help you through it. Which is what Jeremy, Bonnie, Damon, Stefan, Caroline and I are going to do. We're here for you."

She nodded. "Do you think there's a way out? Even though I've completed the transition?"

I shook my head. "I don't think there is."

"So I'm stuck like this?" she almost whispered.

I looked at her pitifully. "I think so."

* * *

**A/N: What do you think? The main pairing for this season is Klaus/Lucy, but that's not going to be the only pairing.**

**Any suggestions? Criticism? Please Review!**


	2. Memories and Memorials

_Memories and Memorials_

I watched as Stefan pulled the wooden bullets out of Tyler's torso using a pair of metal tongs.

You know, because I totally had nothing better to do.

"Please tell me that's the last one," Caroline said, hating seeing her boyfriend in so much pain.

Stefan examined one of the bullets. "These were specially carved; the length, the width. If you were a normal vampire, you'd be dead."

He placed the wooden bullets in a glass of alcohol to clean it.

"This guy knew what he was doing," Tyler said. "His gloves must have been steeped in vervain. He was looking for a vampire and he didn't hesitate for a second when he found one."

Stefan observed the bullets. "These etchings…."

He touched the bullet and it burns him.

"Are the bullets spelled?" Caroline asked, looking at me.

I shook my head. "I don't think so."

"They're something, anyway," Stefan said, his eyes not leaving the bullets.

* * *

"Maybe the bullets are just steeped in vervain," I suggested as Stefan and I walked to the church. "And Connor is just a creepy artist who likes to draw on his bullets?"

Stefan laughed, but his joyous humour was put to a halt when we saw Damon stroking Elena's face. Ugh! Why can't Elena just stick with _one _Salvatore? And why was Damon holding a dress-bag-thing?

Elena rushed away from him to get into the church. Stefan approached Damon and I tagged along. I wanted to know why my sister had changed dresses. Damon looked up and saw us. He started to walk away but Stefan and I followed him.

"What's in the bag, Damon?" Stefan pried.

"Mid-service snack," Damon lied. "Church always gets me hungry. The whole blood Christ thing, you know."

Stefan glared at him.

"I brought it for Elena," he admitted.

"Seriously, Damon?" I said disapprovingly. "Let her have her own choices? Why are you so intent on having your own way?"

"It's not my way, it's the only way," Damon insisted.

"If she hurts someone, she'll be desperate to turn the guilt off. Maybe even desperate enough to shut off her humanity," Stefan said.

"What and become a Ripper?" Damon replied.

"I can't let her be anything like me," Stefan said.

"Well, God forbid, she's anything like me," Damon said. "That's really what you're thinking. She's gonna go off the rails eventually, anyways, Stefan, so the faster we can make it happen, the sooner we can get her back on track."

"She's strong. If we help her, she can survive this," Stefan stated.

"She's starving, Stefan! She hasn't been able to keep blood down for days," Damon told him.

"What?" I asked, making my prescence known. "What do you mean she can't keep it down?"

"What are you talking about, Damon? She told me she was fine," Stefan said.

"Well, then she lied to you both. Your four legged protein shake was a bust. The juice box is a no go. She can't even keep my blood down," Damon said.

"She drank from you?" Stefan said, like someone had just stuck a dagger in his heart.

"Oops. Did I say that out loud?" Damon walked away, leaving a hurt-looking Stefan.

"He's just petty, Stefan," I said, trying to cheer him up. "What's the big deal anyway? So she drank his blood-"

"Its a bigger deal with other vampires, Lucy," he said.

I nodded. "Well, come on. We have a memorial to go to."

Stefan and I went into the church. He sat with Tyler and Caroline, while I sat two rows in front of him, beside Elena.

"Before we begin the Mass, we'd like to open the floor to anyone who would like to share a memory about our late friends on the Town Council. I know that April Young wanted to say a few words about her dad. April? April, are you still here, honey?" Carol Lockwood said.

She didn't come up. I couldn't remember too much about April Young, but I knew that she wouldn't run away without telling anyone. Something must have happened.

"Is there anyone else who would like to share a recollection or a memory about Pastor Young?"

Of course, Elena _had _to stand up.

"Come on up, Elena," Carol said kindly.

Elena walked up to the podium. I turned around when I heard the sound of the door opening and slamming shut. Damon dipped his hands in a bowl of holy water and made the sign of the cross. It was odd, considering vampires were the most unholiest of creatures.

"I uh – when I talked to April earlier she was kind of nervous about coming up to speak. And now that I'm up here, I'm kind of nervous too," Elena said, gripping the sides of the podium. "The worst day of loving someone is the day that you lose them."

She stopped suddenly. She looked _hungry_.

I turned around and looked at Stefan, giving him a 'what the hell's going on' look.

'Blood' he mouthed. I nodded in understanding.

I whipped back around. Elena started breathing heavily.

"I um..."

Veins began protruding underneath her eyes. Stefan rushed up to the podium and wrapped his arm around her. He led her off the stage and back into the row between Matt and I. The priest went over to the podium.

"Please turn to page forty two in your hymn book. Let us join together in a song."

We stood up and began to sing. I didn't sing. I _can't _sing. Unless I'm in the shower. Then I'm Mariah Carey all of a sudden.

Elena was leaning on Stefan. "The blood. Stefan, the blood, I can smell it. There's so much."

"Its alright; just remember what we talked about. Focus, push back, come on you can do this," Stefan encouraged.

"What's wrong with her?" Matt asked.

"She's hungry. She hasn't fed," Stefan whispered.

"Get her out of here, Stefan," I said.

"I can't there's someone watching us," he replied.

"You do that, Damon, and you risk exposing all of us," Stefan said. _Who the hell is he talking to? Okay, its official. Stefan Salvatore has gone bonkers_. But then I remembered vampire hearing. And then I felt like a lunatic.

"Stefan, I'm losing it," Elena whispered.

"Come on, Elena, hold on for a bit longer," I begged.

"Don't do it, Damon. Please," Stefan said.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Elena, feed from me," Matt suggested. "It's okay, everyone will think you're upset. Just feed from me."

Stefan let Matt take Elena into his arms. Boy, Matt does have some good ideas.

"It's okay. You'll be okay," he whispered.

I fixed my gaze on the podium, trying not to look at my sister 'feeding' from one of my best friends.

Tyler stormed up the aisle suddenly.

"The blood. I can still smell it. It's got to be April. We have to help her," Elena said, trying to leave, but Stefan stopped her.

"Elena, we can't risk it," Stefan insisted, but my head-strong, stubborn twin sister wouldn't listen.

"Then I'm gonna do it!" Elena stated.

"Don't be stupid, Elena," I hissed.

She tried to push past Stefan. She stopped upon hearing Tyler's voice from the podium.

"Excuse me. I just wanted to say a few words about Pastor Young," Tyler said.

"What do we do?" Elena asked.

Tyler knew what he was doing. He couldn't be killed by the hunter's bullets, so he was sacrificing himself so that the others didn't get killed.

We all sat back down. "Back in first grade, I was a brat who couldn't be bothered with team sports. Didn't care much about anything that didn't affect me. But he was the one who made me understand how important it is to be part of a team; a community. Of giving yourself up for the sake of…"

Tyler was interrupted when someone shot him and he fell to the floor. The church was filled with the sound of people screaming and fleeing. Elena, Caroline and I rushed towards Tyler. As well as Carol, Tyler's mom.

"Oh my God," Carol exclaimed.

Caroline kneeled down next to Tyler and ripped the stake out of his chest. Stefan rushed to the stage and stood beside Elena.

Tyler coughed. "I'm gonna kill that bastard."

"Damon's way ahead of you. Stay here, I have to help him," Stefan made to leave, but Elena grabbed his hand.

"What about April?" she asked.

"I got it. Go," Caroline said and Stefan left.

"I have to call an ambulance," Carol stated.

"He's fine, Mrs. Lockwood, the bullets can't hurt him," I told her.

"The whole town just watched you get shot," Carol said. "I'm calling an ambulance."

Carol leaves. I looked to my side to see that Elena had left. My eyes met with Caroline's as we both whispered, "Elena."

"The balcony, that's where the blood is," she rushed off and I followed her.

We raced up the balcony and saw Elena edging in towards a bleeding April, ready to feed on her.

Caroline vampire-speeded towards Elena and grabbed her. "She's not dead, but if you feed on her you will kill her!"

Elena struggled and tried to fight her. "Let go of me!"

I stood in front of Elena and pointed towards April. "It's April, Elena. April Young. She's your friend, you babysitted her, remember?" Elena slowly turned back to normal. I nodded to Caroline to release her. "She lost her parents. She's grieving. Just like we were. She scared, she's an orphan now. Just like us."

Caroline bit her wrist and fed April her blood. April woke up and gasped.

She was crying. "Please, don't hurt me. Please."

"No one's gonna hurt you. No one's gonna hurt you," Caroline promised.

Caroline stood up. "She needs you. You can make her forget all of this."

"Why did he do this?" April asked.

"No, I – I can't, Caroline. You have to do it," Elena insisted.

"No. The only way you're going to learn is if you do it yourself."

"No, I can't."

"Yes, you can," Caroline insisted. "You just need to believe what you're telling her. Okay?"

Elena kneeled down next to April. She gently touches her shoulder. April was panicking. She was just an innocent girl, she didn't deserve this. Vampire hunters were cruel bastards, so obsessed with killing vampires that they forget their purpose. To _protect _the humans.

"April, listen to me," April looked at Elena, almost pleadingly. "Everything's gonna be okay. You're gonna get through this. Just like I got through it. I'm going to help you. I promise."

"I'm gonna be okay. You're gonna help me," April repeated robotically.

Elena looked up at us and smiled.

"You watched the funeral from up here so that you could grieve alone. It was a beautiful service. People said really nice things," Elena said and April smiled.

* * *

"Stefan, what are we doing?" Damon asked his younger brother.

Stefan was holding paper lanterns in his hand.

"We're finishing the memorial we didn't get to have earlier," he answered.

"We need to start healing, Damon. We've all lost so much, especially recently. I think we're numb to it. We push it away, we make a joke out of it, ignore how we feel. We've never just let ourselves grieve."

"So, you're lighting lanterns?"

Stefan didn't expect Damon to actually _like _this idea, did he?

"Yeah. Yeah, we need to do this," Stefan said.

"What we need to do is find out who this hunter is and what he knows about the death of the Council. We have more important things to be doing right now than this," Damon replied.

"Not tonight, we don't."

Damon scoffed.

"This is for my uncle Zach and my friend Lexi and for Alaric," he said.

It was odd that Damon had killed two out of three of those people.

He lit the lantern before handing the lighter to Matt.

"This is for Vicki," he said, lighting the lantern. Caroline got up and took the lighter from Matt.

"This is for my dad. And Tyler's," Caroline said.

Jeremy took the lighter from Caroline. "This is for our parents," he looked between me and Elena. "For Vicki. Anna. Jenna. And Alaric."

He lights his lantern. He tried to hand the lighter to Damon, but he refused it.

"No way. I'm not doing that."

And he left.

I stood up and accepted the lighter from him. "This is for our parents, Jenna, Alaric and John."

I lit the lantern and handed the lighter to Bonnie. She took a lantern out of the box and the lighter from Jeremy. She got up and stood next to me.

"This is for my Grams," she said.

Stefan looked at Elena. She stood up and lit her candle. "This um – is for my mom, my dad, Jenna, everyone that you've all lost, everyone that this town has lost. And for me, I guess."

Elena stepped forward and released her lantern. One after the other, we all released ours, watching them as they floated into the dark sky.

* * *

**Reviews? Suggestions?**


	3. Ignorance

_Ignorance_

Elena, Stefan and I sat down in our desks. I missed Mr. Saltzman already.

I turned my head to see my twin, who was about to burst into tears. She was a bit... over-emotional these days. And this was all because of a certain blonde-haired bitch...

Who just happened to stroll through the classroom door, flyers in her hands.

"Morning everyone," she said merrily.

"Morning Bekah," one of the students replied.

Somebody... _liked _her?

"Just like that, I'm no longer feeling sentimental," Elena snarled.

"So, I'm throwing a little anti-curfew party at my new house. Starts at the fifth period and goes till whenever, spread the word," Rebekah said.

She handed out the flyers to the students. "You're welcome to join Elena, if you'd like to bury the hatchet."

She held out a flyer for Elena to take, which she did. "It's a pretty enormous hatchet."

"Well, I'm feeling generous of spirit," Rebekah retorted.

"New house, huh? Did your brother finally kick you out?" she asked, still looking at the flyer.

"He didn't kick me out, I left," Rebekah said.

"So, you left the only person on earth that actually likes you?"

_Ooh... cat fight._

Rebekah looked at Stefan. "Well, your boyfriend liked me once." Stefan looked up at Rebekah. "Actually, a lot more than once."

I had to swallow down some barf. Stefan and Rebekah... doing the deed... _yuck_.

Stefan noticed and it seemed like he was trying not to laugh. This whole confrontation between my sister and the reason she was a vampire was pretty funny.

Elena was looked furious. "Why are you still in town, Rebekah? Don't you have anywhere else to go?"

"Well, history's my favorite class. Actually, where is Mr. Saltzman?"

Elena was getting angrier and angrier. Mentioning Ric was a low blow, even for Rebekah the Bitch.

"Oh, that's right, I killed him," she added to the fire.

Elena threw her pencil at Rebekah. She caught it and threw it back at her, stabbing her in the chest. They glared at each other. If looks could kill... Elena took the pencil out of her chest and stormed off, Stefan following her.

"Do you have to be a bitch?" I asked her. "I know you're spiteful and all, but mentioning Ric... Well that's just low."

She scowled at me. "And I thought we were friends."

I snorted. "Where'd you get that idea."

"Before you and your sister stabbed me in the back," she snarled.

"Hey, Elena did the stabbing, I did the watching," I replied. "At first I regretted it, but now, after everything you've done... I kinda don't."

Her scowl intensified. "Don't you think for a second that I won't hurt you because my brother fancies you. In fact, it makes you more of a target."

I smirked. "Then by all means, shoot me."

She squinted her eyes before flipping her hair back and storming out of the class. Probably to torture Elena some more.

Eh, I had history to worry about. Unlike some people in my class, I wasn't there for most of it, so I actually had to study. It sucks being a normal age and having a normal lifespan.

* * *

"Jer! Jer!" I called.

"What, Lucy?" he groaned. "Its not exactly cool to have your big sister stalk you."

"Who was that you were talking to?"

His eyes widened. "Oh you mean - oh, eh - just some... guy."

I rolled my eyes. "I know he's a guy, Jer. I also know he's a vampire hunter. Why are you hanging around with a vampire hunter? Are you going to start an uprising or something?"

"What?" Why did people always look so confused when I talked?

"Nevermind," I said. "Just don't talk to vampire hunters, okay Jer? Especially not creepy, strong, ones like him. What did he say to you, anyway?"

"Oh nothing," he answered - or rather - _lied_. I raised an eyebrow. "Nothing. He just said that since I could see his tattoo that I was a potential hunter. And to find a vampire so he could train me."

I stared at him for a second. Jeremy didn't keep his hatred of vampires a secret, but becoming a hunter? Seriously? His own _sister _was a vampire.

"Seriously, Jer. I'm not going to be the type of guardian who tells you who you can or cannot be friends with, but vampire hunters with invisible tattoos that only you can see? That's a no-go. Okay?"

"Fine," he replied. "I wasn't gonna go anyway. Hey, wait, you're my guardian now?" He seemed amused.

"Yes, I am," I straightened myself up and tried to look as adult-like as possible. "Legally, anyway. Someone had to be, and since I'm the eldest, the responsibility falls on me."

"Alright," he said. "But you don't seem the guardian type."

I hit his shoulder playfully. "Hey, I am so the guardian type."

* * *

"Here he comes," Damon sing-songed.

I didn't go to the party in the end. Truth be told, I wasn't bothered to deal with Rebekah Mikaelson. I decided to do something much more... thrilling.

The vampire hunter followed Meredith into the room she had just entered, before bumping into Damon and I.

"Is a hospital really the best place for a germaphobe?" he asked.

"You're a germaphobe?" I snorted.

He walked out from behind a rack of medical supplies. "Did I say that I was a germaphobe? Pft, sorry, I meant vampire."

The hunter pulled out and aimed it at Damon, but someone with great timing shot him with an arrow before he could pull the trigger. He dropped his gun and, when he tried to pick it up, he was shot by another arrow. He looked at the two arrows and, for some reason, his eyes widened.

"They're attached to bombs," Damon whispered in my ear.

"Oh," I replied. _That explains the terror._

"Stings, doesn't it?" Damon asked the hunter.

The hunter attempted to grab his gun again, but someone kicked it out of the way. _Klaus_. The dude had great timing.

"Hello, mate."

* * *

The hunter tried and failed repeatedly as he attempted to pull the arrow out from his side. The three of us - Klaus, Damon and I - watched his struggle with amusement. I didn't like this guy. He tried to become friends with Jeremy before I could approve of him. I know that sounds really controlling, but you kind of have to. First Kol, the psychotic Original vampire, and now this guy, the obsessed vampire hunter? Boy, Jeremy knew how to pick 'em.

"Keep it up, buddy. We'll be scraping you off the ceiling," Damon said.

"You three are gonna kill me anyway," the hunter replied. At least he was mildly intelligent.

"Well, let's not be too hasty. I feel like we're just getting to know each other," Klaus said.

"Let's start with the basics," Damon began. "Where are you from, what do you know, maybe you can cue me in on this 'greater evil', because I've fought this guy (Points at Klaus) and there's nothing more evil than that."

Damon handed Klaus the letter.

"Yeah, truth be told, I'm as evil as it gets."

I snorted. "You say that as if its a _good _thing?"

"Maybe it is, love," he answered.

_Love _this, _darling _that. I wanted _strangle _him sometimes. But he was an Original, and I wasn't stupid. Impulsive, irrational, stubborn and proud maybe, but not stupid.

"Tell us who you are and we mightn't kill you," I lied. Of course Klaus and Damon were going to kill him.

"I'm not telling you anything. And if you think if you kill me it's gonna be over, there's another waiting to take my place," he threatened.

"See, this is what I like to hear; vague threats, ominous prophecies, disappearing tattoos," Damon said.

"What do you mean tattoos?" Klaus asked, the smirk falling from his face.

"Don't bother, you can't see the damn thing," Damon said.

_But Jeremy can. And I had to be careful not to mention that_.

Klaus knelt down in front of the hunter.

"There's more to you than meets the eye, isn't there?" he asked.

The hunter tried to stake Klaus, but Klaus' super vampire reflexes allows him to catch his arm.

"Nice try, but I'm faster than your average vampire," Klaus boasted.

He twisted the hunter's arm and grabbed the stake out of his hand. His eyes widened upon noticing the mark carved into the wood.

"You're one of the Five," he stated.

"The what?" Damon asked. I was just as confused.

"And I'm faster than your average hunter," Canor replied.

Connor pulled the string to the bomb. I was swooped up by someone and carried out of the room. The bomb exploded behind us.

I opened my eyes to see Damon. Thank God it wasn't Klaus.

"Thanks," I said. He let me down. "Where's Klaus and the hunter?"

He shrugged. "Hopefully not dead," he answered. "But Klaus can't be killed... so that means that hopefully the hunter' isn't dead."

* * *

_"She's got werewolf venom in her system," _Stefan told me over the phone. _"Do you know where Klaus is?"_

"He was at the hospital, but he left with the hunter," I said. "He might be in his house. I'm passing by there now. Don't worry, she'll get her cure."

_"Thanks, Lucy," _he said. _"I'll see you then."_

"Bye."

I hung up on him and got out of the car. Klaus' house - no, mansion - was extremely fancy and aristocratic looking. He said that he designed it himself, but I suppose after being around for a thousand years he must have developed a few skills. Being an absolute evil dick was one of them.

I approached the door of his house, but before I could knock, Klaus came out.

He smirked. "Come here to beg me for some of my blood, love?" he asked. "Not to worry, I'm on my way there."

"You heard his voicemail I take it?"

"There were _nine_," he said. I snorted. "So you've come here to beg as well?"

"Well, I did," I replied. "But now the plan is that I'll drive you there. I don't fancy leaving my car here over night."

"Very well then, love," he agreed, getting into the car that Elena and I shared.

I rolled my eyes and got into the car.

"What's it like? Being the doppelganger's sister?" he asked after a couple minutes of blissful silence. "You must get jealous, how everyone is so willing to save her?"

"I don't get _jealous_," I spat. It was a lie. Of course I was jealous.

"Of course you do, love," he continued. "You're jealous, spiteful. I would be too, to be honest. Its made you insecure."

I scoffed. "Me? Insecure? That's a new one."

"You find it so difficult to believe that I fancy you," he said. "All the signs point to deep feelings of insecurity."

"Or maybe its to do with the fact that your a raging psychopath unable of any feeling remotely close to being human?" I asked. "I'm not stupid, Klaus."

The smirk on his face fell and we sat in silence once again. I pulled up against the Salvatore Boarding House. I followed him into the house. Maybe he could smell her? There were so many rooms in the house that it'd probably be midnight before I found her.

Klaus found the room. Stefan got up and walked up to him. "You came."

"I did. And for future reference, one voicemail is just as effective as nine," he replied.

Elena moaned in discomfort. She was lying on the bed and she looked pale.

"What's wrong, love?" he asked, knowing perfectly well what was wrong with her.

"She has werewolf venom in her system," Stefan told him. "You know you're the only one that can heal her, Klaus, please."

"And what would you have done if I were no longer here?" Klaus asked rhetorically. "Hm? If you and your friends had succeeded in ridding the world of me, let's play that game for a moment, shall we?"

Stefan stepped forward angrily. "Whatever you want from me…."

"I don't want anything from you," Klaus said. He sat on the bed next to Elena. "Her, on the other hand… If you had told me a few hours ago, I wouldn't have cared a lick about her dying. But, as it turns out..." He bit his wrist. "You may be of use to me after all."

He placed his wrist in her mouth and Elena drank his blood. "Yes. There we go."

* * *

"What do you want with Elena?" I asked Klaus as I led him out of the house. We were just outside on the porch.

"Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about, love," he said. "Anyway, I think time might tell."

He made to leave but I grabbed his wrist before he could. "Come on, Klaus, please tell me."

He looked at my hand and then at me. "All will be well, I promise you. My intentions are, in the long run, both in your interest and mine."

I sighed and nodded. "Thank you, for saving her. Even though it was because she's of use to you, I still appreciate it."

"I didn't do it just for me, love. I had another reason," he said, before leaving to walk home.

I stood there, watching him as he left.

* * *

**A/N: What do you think? Any criticism? Suggestions? I'd love to hear your thoughts or what you think should happen. I kind of have a plan for this season, but it can change since I haven't written most of the chapters yet.**

**Please review!**


	4. A Cure

_A Cure_

I stormed into the Salvatore Boarding House. Since Bonnie, Elena and Damon were gone to Whitmore College for the day and I was bored, I decided to hang with Stefan. He could be fun, sometimes. When he wasn't brooding, or hatching up a master plan.

Stefan came down the stairs, his eyes on his keys. He stopped in his tracks when he saw I was there.

"Lucy? What are you doing here?" he asked.

I smirked. "Why do you sound so disappointed?" I said. "I was bored, Elena, Damon and Bonnie are gone to Whitmore College and Jeremy's no fun, and we haven't really hung out in ages." I looked at his keys. "And it looks like you're going somewhere. Are you hatching an evil plan?" He didn't answer. "Stefan, what are you gonna do? Stefan?"

He rolled his eyes. "You don't need to be so nosy all the time."

"Oh, yes, I do," I countered. "Because you have a tendency of getting yourself in mucky situations. Not to mention, I have the ability to give people aneurysms, which is convenient when I want to get information." I shut the door behind me and crossed my arms.

He groaned. "_Fine_. I'm gonna break into Klaus' house and find Connor."

"What makes you think he has Connor?" I asked.

He shrugged. "It just matches up. Damon got you away from the exposion, Connor's remains weren't found and Klaus got away just after you and Damon got away. He probably has him tied up in his mansion."

"And _why _do you care?"

"Because he's one of the 'five', and I want to find out what that is."

"But he doesn't know either," I told him. "Connor has no idea what 'the Five' is, even if he is apart of it."

"But Klaus _does_," Stefan replied. "So, if you don't mind, I would like to leave." He opened the door and I followed him. "What are you doing?"

"Tagging along," I answered. He raised his eyebrow. "Hey, I'm curious. And you might need some back-up? Come on, we'll take my car."

* * *

We broke into Klaus' mansion. Stefan knocked out some hybrids.

We found Connor in one of the room, chained up to a piece of wood.

"Should we take him?" I questioned.

He shook his head. "Klaus needs him. And Klaus needs Elena. We might strike a bargain," he stared at Connor before his eyes widened in horror. "Klaus is coming."

He dragged me over to where he hoped Klaus couldn't see us.

Klaus came in and stood next to his hostage. "Looks like I'll have to beef up the hybrid security detail," he said.

Stefan walked out of the shadows, dragging me with him. Ugh, I hated being treated like a rag-doll.

"We were going to take him, but I figured you went through such trouble to truss him up in your red room of pain," he replied.

"Great torture-room, by the way," I said sarcastically.

"It's from the Inquisition. I thought it was a nice touch."

"What'd you get out of him?" Stefan asked.

"Not enough. He's about the Council fire and he's not saying anything about this greater evil we're all supposed to be shivering over. What brings you snooping?" he questioned us.

"Well, I can't say it in front of him. As I'm sure you've figured out, our friend here can't be compelled," Stefan told him.

"You're full of mysteries, aren't you?" he said to Connor.

"I told you, I don't know anything."

"Thankfully, I know plenty," Klaus replied.

He gestured for Stefan and I to follow him as he walked out of the room.

"Shall we?"

I nudged Stefan, edging towards the door. He was staring at Connor, until he finally got a grip and followed Klaus. Klaus shut the door behind us.

"So, what's with the home invasion?" he asked.

"Stefan's hell-bent on finding out about this guy," I answered. "And the 'five', whatever that is."

"I figured out that you were up to something when you healed Elena from the werewolf poison without asking for anything in return," he said.

I had figured that out as well. But since he promised that it was in my interest as well, I chose to play-it-by-year.

"I was feeling benevolent."

Even if it had something to do with what Klaus the Devil wanted. Which was never good.

"You're never benevolent. Who is this guy? What's the Five?"

"So many questions," Klaus said.

"And so many answers that you're going to give us," I replied.

"It's a good thing I have nothing to do today, except get answers out of you. And Lucy doesn't either, have you, Lucy?"

I shook my head. "Nothing at all."

Stefan sat down. "Fine," Klaus looked to Stefan. "You might actually be useful in persuading my sister to cooperate."

Klaus walked away from the door and approached us. I sat down on the chair beside Stefan.

"The brotherhood of the Five was a group of highly skilled vampire hunters. We crossed paths with them in the 12th century, Italy."

He told us of how Rebekah feel in love with a member of the Five, Alexander.

"So these hunters have been around for nine hundred years?" Stefan asked.

"Apparently. Though our friend in the other room is the first I've seen since then. Kind of makes you wonder what they've been up to all these years."

"And Rebekah had a thing for one of them?" I questioned.

"Oh, she didn't just have a thing," he said. "She fell in love with him. He told her all his secrets. Which I will gladly share with you provided you do one thing for me."

"And what's that?" Stefan asked.

"Get Rebekah over here," he ordered. "She's being stubborn and hateful. I need to make peace with her." Klaus got up. "I want her to give me some very important information about the hunter which she won't do, unless she believes we've made up."

Stefan stood. "And what's in it for me?"

"Just get her here and I'll tell you," Klaus said. "Oh, and Stefan, trust me when I say this; that hunter in there holds the answer to all your prayers."

Stefan shot me a worried glance. "Oh don't worry, I won't hurt her."

I rolled my eyes. He was so damn cocky. But still, there was no way that I could take down an Original.

Stefan nodded and left.

"You know, I could have just gone with him," I said. "Then you wouldn't be stuck with me for the next few hours."

"I doubt they'll be more than an hour," he replied. "And I quite enjoy your company."

He poured me out some wine and offered it to me. I went to take it and he pulled back. "Wait, aren't you underage?" he asked, smirking.

"Yes, but that hasn't stop me before," I snatched the wine from him, "and its certainly not gonna stop me now. Cheers."

He chuckled. "Cheers," he said, raising his glass. "So, how's your sister getting on with her new vampire life?"

"She can't keep down any blood source except blood from a human's vein," I told him.

"That's odd," he said, puzzled. "I've never seen a vampire who's unable to drink from a bloodbag. Animals, however, aren't the best source of blood for a vampire. Few are able to keep it down."

Maybe it had something to do with her being a doppelganger before turning?

"But if my plan works out, she mightn't have to worry about blood sources anymore," he said, sipping his wine.

I stared at him. "Excuse me?"

He smirked. "Time will reveal all, darling."

I rolled my eyes and groaned. Why did he chose to be so mysterious all the time? He just wanted to get under my skin, which he always succeeded in doing.

"If I'm going to find out anyway, then why won't you tell me?" I asked, annoyed.

"I have admit, I'm enjoying teasing you," he said.

"Of course," I said, nodding. "Dick," I mumbled.

"Language, sweetheart," he scolded, chuckling.

I held my hands up in defense. "I'm only telling the truth."

He laughed. Klaus wasn't bad looking. He had an almost wolf-like face and reddish-pink lips and dimples. He had short, blonde hair and oceanic blue eyes. He was actually kinda handsome... _Lucy Gilbert get a grip! He killed Aunt Jenna, he's the reason Uncle John is dead and he tried to kill your sister! Not to mention countless innocent humans. And you're calling him 'handsome'?_

For some reason, I joined in with the laughter, despite my brain telling me to give him one heck of an aneurysm for killing Jenna.

"Why do you doubt that I fancy you? Other than the fact that I'm a raging psychopath..."

I snorted. I was actually having fun.

"So you admit it," I smiled.

"Don't dodge the question, love," he said.

I sighed. "I don't know!" I said defensively. "You're not exactly the easiest person to trust, after everything you've done."

"Oh, come on, love! Its been ages since the sacrifice! You can't be holding that against me."

I scoffed. "Oh yes, I can. God! You're so damn insensitive! Its been a couple of months since Jenna died, since the sacrifice. You tried to kill Elena, _numerous _times. You're the reason John's dead... You know what? I can't stand to be in the same room as you!" I stood up angrily.

Klaus rushed to get up and stood in front of me. "Perhaps that was a little insensitive," I tried to walked past him, but he just moved to the side. "And I didn't mean to offend you. None of this was meant to hurt you, Lucy," once again, he stood in my way of leaving. He planted his hand on my shoulder. "I do care about you."

I stared at his arms, as if staring could make him release me.

"You have an odd way of showing it," I growled.

He caressed my cheek with his left hand and I shivered in response to his touch. It felt _good_. Maybe this was real. _No, no, no. This isn't real. He's playing you_. Every inch of my body was telling me to fight back, but I didn't.

Then I remembered Jenna's limp, dead body and how he ripped out her heart. I took a deep breath and stepped back.

"Connor - the tattoo - we should ask him - I'm gonna..."

My breathing quickened as I swiftly walked to the torture room, followed by Klaus. I didn't look at him. I felt too ashamed. I fell for another one of his little tricks to get me to trust him so he could use me or just humiliate me for sport. My pride was damaged, and I hated when my pride was damaged.

Connor groaned. I'd say being chained to the torture device for more than at least an hour wasn't very comfortable.

"You feeling alright, mate? Are the shackles too tight?" he mocked. "Welcome home, sister."

I whipped around and saw Rebekah and Stefan entering the room.

"Is this a trick? How do you know he's one of the Five? Where's his bloody tattoo?"

"Oh, the tattoos aren't visible on this lot like they were on the last," Klaus explained. "Let's eat."

We followed him into the dining room. I sat in front of Stefan while Rebekah sat in front of Klaus, beside me and Stefan. A pretty girl with little clothes on served us food.

"Thank you, my lovely."

She had no clue what was going on. Klaus had compelled her.

"I could kiss the Council for burning up all the vervain in town. They made my life so much easier. Rebekah, love, eat your veggies."

"I'm not eating until you apologize," Rebekah stubbornly declared.

"For which indiscretion? There have been so many," Klaus replied.

"You broke my neck," Rebekah said.

"You threw away Elena's blood so I can't make any more hybrids," Klaus countered.

"Because you took me for granted!" Rebekah exclaimed.

"That's what big brothers do, sweetheart!"

"Let me just name the million other people I'd rather be having dinner with right now," Stefan drawled.

"Alright, fine. I'm sorry. I often forget how delicate you are. Forgive me?"

"I'll take it under consideration," Rebekah said.

"Good. Now that you've solved your familial issues, why don't you tell us about Rebekah's hunter?" I suggested.

"Right, Alexander. Nice chap foregoing the obvious issues," he began. "He was looking for creatures of the night which is why we felt quite safe around him wearing our daylight rings."

The Five was a group of five men. (_Shocker!_) They were created by a dying witch who wished for the destruction of all vampires. They had a weapon that no vampire could survive.

"So, that's what this is about? A weapon," Stefan said.

"Not just any weapon," Rebekah replied.

"Rebekah, love, don't get ahead of the story," Klaus scolded.

"How is a weapon going to help Elena?" I asked.

Rebekah and Klaus stared at each other, not saying anything.

"Okay. Why don't we just skip with the theatrics and get right to the point?"

"Not quite yet, because in order to find this weapon, we need to solve the puzzle. Which seems to have disappeared," Klaus said.

"What's the puzzle?" I inquired.

Klaus raised his eyebrows. "The tattoo. What is it?" Stefan asked.

"A map. Leading us to its treasure," Klaus said.

"Fat lot of good a tattoo's gonna do, if we can't see it," Rebekah stated.

"We can't, but someone else can," Klaus turned to a girl. "Why don't you tell the hybrid to bring him in, love?" The girl left the room to get the only person who could see the tattoo. _Jeremy_. I was scared. I didn't like the idea of Klaus using my brother, bringing him into it. "You see, the hunter was so eager to get to the bottom of his mystery tattoos that he mentioned there was only one other person that can see them."

A hybrid, with Jeremy in his grasp, entered.

"Jeremy," I whispered.

I glared at Klaus and stood up. Stefan vampire-sped towards Jeremy and Klaus rushed past Stefan, standing between him and Jeremy. I moved to stand beside Stefan.

"I wouldn't. Lucky for us, young Jeremy here, is a bit of an artist," Klaus said.

"Leave Jeremy out of this," I said angrily.

"Now, now, love, I just want Jeremy's help," Klaus grinned.

"I'm not helping you with anything," Jeremy stated defiantly.

The hybrid grabbed Jeremy's hand and took his ring off. He threw it to Klaus who caught it and held it up for Jeremy to see.

"Oh, I'm afraid you are."

* * *

"So, tell me more about this tattoo," Stefan said.

We were still in the dining room, talking about the Five.

"My sister's suitor was unwilling to tell us anything. Rebekah, however, was more than willing to investigate. Isn't that right?"

Rebekah looked down, ashamed.

Klaus told us how Alexander betrayed Rebekah and stabbed her with the White Oak Ash dagger in the heart. He seemed to be enjoying telling us about Rebekah's foolishness and naivety. I felt sorry for Rebekah for having to deal with Klaus for a brother.

"My sister's boyfriend threw a slumber party that night. He and his brothers put us all down in our sleep. Elijah, Kol, Finn, and me," Klaus said.

"How was I supposed to know?" Rebekah asked rhetorically.

Klaus raised his class. "Cheers, to my sister's uncanny ability to choose men."

"I thought the daggers didn't work on you because of your werewolf side," Stefan noted.

Klaus smirked. "They don't."

Klaus had undaggered Rebekah, and Alexander, Rebekah's lover and the vampire hunter, promised her something.

"Go ahead, Rebekah. Tell him. Tell him what the hunter told you the tattoo leads to. What is this great weapon that could bring about the end of the vampire species?" Klaus said.

"A cure. He said there was a cure."

Klaus got up and Stefan followed him.

"There is no cure for vampirism," Stefan stated.

"He's telling the truth, Stefan," Rebekah said.

"Then why wouldn't you have searched for it, found it?"

Rebekah and I got up as well. We followed the boys into the other room. Klaus was pouring himself a drink.

"Because when the hunters drew their final breath that night, the marks disappeared from their body, the map was gone, the brotherhood of the Five extinct. For nine hundred years, there was not a whisper of another hunter, until our friend in there showed up in town," he explained.

"Well, now we have the map, what do we do next?" Rebekah asked.

"_We _don't do anything," Klaus said. "You can't be trusted, little sister. You'll be blabbing this secret to the first boy who calls you pretty. I mean, it's pathetic, really, isn't it? How she continues to hand her heart to any man who shows her a hint of affection. You'd think she would have learned by now from the endless cycle of disappointment and deception."

"But, I haven't," Rebekah said. "Instead I stayed with you and let you leech every moment of happiness from my life! You know, at least I fared better then Finn, Klaus left him daggered because he was tired of his judgment."

"No, Finn was a dullard. He was more interesting lying in a box."

"You want the cure for Elena, don't you?" Rebekah accused. "So you can go back to mass producing your hybrids. That's why you brought Stefan and Lucinda here, because you knew that they'd help you even though they hate your guts! You know what? You can shove your cure."

Rebekah stormed out of the house. Klaus smirked.

"That was unnecessary," I said. "Did you really have to be such a dick to her?"

"Of course, love," he replied, his smirk growing. "That's what brother's do."

"Well, I hope you got what you wanted out of her before you chased her off," Stefan said.

"She never would have told me what I needed to know," Klaus said, looking at Stefan. "But she'll tell you."

"What do you need me to find out?" Stefan asked.

"The map is useless without the tool to decipher it."

"The sword."

"She knows where it is. And you're gonna get her to tell you. You have a chance to save Elena from the very thing that is going to destroy her. You can call it a deal with the devil, if you like. But you know you won't walk away from it."

* * *

I opened and shut the front door and entered the house. I had left with Stefan, though he decided to walk home, or wherever it was he was going. Klaus promised me that Jeremy would return home safely, so I left. I was worried now though, it was stupid of me to leave him there with _Klaus _of all people.

I was barely home for two minutes when my phone started ringing. _Klaus_. I was tempted to ignore it, but considering what we talked about today, I answered it. Just to be safe.

_"Hello, love."_

"Klaus. What do you want?"

_"Stefan's with Rebekah and after I deal with her, I want to have a team meeting."_

"Since when were we a team?"

_"We all want the cure for your sister. We all have a common goal. Why not work as a team?"_

I sighed. "Fine. Where?"

_"The Salvatore Boarding House. Be quick."_

I groaned and hung up. Could there ever be peace?

* * *

Stefan and Damon's front door was never locked, so anyone could go in whenever they pleased. Because, since they're vampires, they didn't have to worry about burglaries.

When I entered the house, I saw Klaus dipping the dagger in the ash, Rebekah trying to speed away and Stefan stopping her.

"I'm sorry, Rebekah," Stefan said.

Rebekah looked hurt and she turned to face Klaus.

"Go right ahead. Laugh at the girl who loved too easily. But I would rather have lived my life than yours, Nik. No one will ever sit around a table telling stories about a man who could barely love. Who pined over a girl who was repulsed by him. Look at her, Nik. She could never love you. She thinks you're a monster! Do it. Look me in the eye and do it, you coward!"

Klaus avoided Rebekah's eyes.

"Do it!"

Klaus stabbed her with the dagger and she started to desiccate.

But she went classy and proud, and I had a newfound respect for Rebekah Mikaelson.

* * *

I sat on the chair and watched as Stefan cover Rebekah's body with a blanket. I glared at Klaus when he came into the room.

"I have a plane waiting," Klaus said. "I'll get the sword. My hybrids will keep an eye on Connor. You put Rebekah somewhere where no one will find her and make sure Jeremy forgets everything he heard today."

He gave Jeremy's ring to me.

"I'll take care of it," Stefan said.

I wasn't too happy about my brother being compelled _yet again _by a vampire, but this time, it was for his own safety.

"No one must know about the cure, do you understand? Not Damon. Not Elena. Nobody. If this gets out, it could mean all our deaths. So, if you tell anyone, I'll erase each and every memory from the lot of you…"

"I won't say anything," Stefan promised.

He looked to me. "Love?"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure. Whatever."

"Good," Klaus said. "It's just us three in this. Some secrets are stronger than family."

Family didn't mean much to Klaus anyway.

* * *

I drove Stefan to our house. He wanted to wait for Elena. Of course, Damon was there with Elena when we arrived. I was done with this love triangle drama. It was tiring, seeing someone string two guys - _brothers _- along. She was my sister and I loved her, but neither of them deserved it.

I changed for bed straight away, finally being allowed to relax. I hoped and prayed that no one would call me. All that I wanted was sleep.

_#4#_

**A/N: What did you think? Is Klaus a bit Ooc? I'm trying to write him as best as I can. **

**Please review!**


	5. Keeping A Deal

_Keeping A Deal_

For the first morning in a long time, I felt good.

I took a shower and got dressed, skipping in and out of my bedroom. I put on my stereo and turned it up to the loudest.

There was a chance that my sister could become human again. Things were looking up.

I was going to enjoy my happy mood until something - or someone - screwed it up. I liked the idea of getting the cure, the thought of looking for it made me tired. But I would look for it, if that meant Elena could be human again.

Klaus was intelligent, getting the two people who would be the most likely to do anything for her. Though Damon would have been useful, he would have done something to ruin everything. This was easier without them.

The destruction of my good moods always seemed to come with the sound of a phone ringing. This time, it was Stefan Salvatore. Not too bad, I supposed. I turned off the stereo, plopped onto my bed and answered my phone.

_"Lucy. We have a problem."_

Of course you do.

"What's happened?" I sighed.

_"Connor's escaped and he has werewolf venom. We have to find him and keep him alive."_

I snorted. "Good look with that."

_"And you're gonna help me."_

My face fell. "What?"

_"We're in this together, Luce."_

"Fine," I said, groaning. "I'll help. What's the plan?"

* * *

What started out as a great day plummeted into the category of 'worst days ever'. And I've had some pretty bad days.

"Stefan! Lucy!" Elena said when we entered the room.

"Where the hell have you two been?" Damon asked.

Stefan and Elena embraced "Coming up with a plan."

"Yeah, we have a plan. The plan is I'm gonna rip Connor's heart out and I'm going to feed it to him."

"No," I said. "That's disgusting and barbaric, not to mention careless. Connor has Jeremy and probably more hostages."

"Hence, the open heart surgery," Damon replied.

"Damon's right," Elena said. "Connor's strong, but he's not going to be able to take all of us."

"I called in the hybrids to help too," Tyler added.

"My mom put squad cars blocking the streets," Caroline said, joining us. "They're saying it's a faulty gas main. We're good to go."

"Good, great," Damon said. "No cops, no witnesses, no reason to wait around."

"Alright, hold on, you're not all going," he looked at Caroline and Elena.

"He shot me like nine times. If we're killing him, I want in," Tyler said.

"He's got Jeremy. I'm going," Elena insisted. "And if Lucy's going I'm definately going."

"To _protect _me?" I scoffed. "I'm a witch, Elena, I don't need your 'protection'."

I hated when people treated me as if I was a damsel in distress. I could protect myself just fine. I wasn't human Elena, I had my powers, which were growing stronger.

"Listen, nobody is going anywhere until I figure out what we're walking into," Stefan said.

"Until you figure it out? Is that where you've been all morning? Out buying bossy pants," Damon mocked.

"This guy is known for setting traps, right?" Stefan pointed out. "We'd be pretty dumb to walk into one, especially if he has werewolf venom."

"Does he?" Elena asked.

"He's had it before," Stefan said.

Elena seemed to be rethinking the whole plan, which made Damon angry. Damon sometimes reminded me of a child. He liked getting his own way. I liked him, though, _some _of the time.

"Fine. Fine, if you want to take some time to do recon, you get one hour. But we're gonna need some extra help. So, where the hell's the Wicked Witch of the West?"

"She's not able to do magic," I answered. "She hasn't been able to since she got Klaus out of Tyler's body. So I guess you're stuck with me for a witch."

"Great," Damon said. "Someone call Bonnie and tell her Jeremy's life is in danger. Maybe that'll bring her out of retirement."

Damon swaggered out of the room, bumping shoulders with Stefan on his way out.

* * *

"Call him," I said, walking across the town square. "He'll help if he knows Elena's about to risk her life."

"Fine."

He dialed Klaus' number and put it to his ear.

"I mean, he has to help," I ranted. "Elena's going to go to the Grill, even if we try to stop her. She's too stubborn not to. And if she dies, his whole plan is ruined."

_"Who's plan is ruined, love?"_

Great. He heard all that. Fantastic.

"Yours," Stefan answered. "Connor's at the Grill and he's taken Jeremy and some other people as hostages. We want you to send us some hybrids."

I pressed my ear against the phone to hear him.

_"You expect me to care about bloody hostages?" _

"Its adviced, considering Elena does. And if Elena dies, then your plan is ruined."

"As do Caroline and Tyler. And if any of them get to Connor, then you've just wasted a trip to Italy. I can buy us some time, but Damon's getting antsy. So, if you want Connor alive, you better get your hybrids on board with our plan."

* * *

"Look, man, this guy is dangerous. He's highly trained. He's armed," Tyler warned the hybrid, Dean.

"I can handle myself. Besides Klaus asked me personally."

I had went over to Lockwood mansion to find out how the hybrid was getting on after finding out that Matt and poor April Young were the other two hostages. Caroline was with me.

"This is a bad idea," Tyler said.

And it was my fault. Partially, anyway. Stefan and I were the ones who told Klaus to send over a hybrid, and he was probably going to die because of me. At the moment, I was so caught up in trying to save my friends I forgot that I was about to ruin someone else's life.

All that and the fact that I had the worst headache read now, I was about to collapse.

"Uh, who are you?" Caroline asked.

Was she talking to me?

"Who the hell are you?" another voice questioned.

I turned around to see a pretty girl with brown hair.

"Caroline," she introduced.

"Oh, you're Tyler's girl. He told me about you. I'm Hayley."

"Well, Hayley, that's pretty crazy, because I haven't heard a thing about you," Caroline said, suspicious.

"I've been staying here a few days," Hayley replied.

"Excuse me?" Caroline said.

"I needed a place to crash," Hayley told her. "Ty's a buddy, he was kind enough to offer."

Caroline approached her threateningly "I know all of Ty's buddies and I haven't heard about you. So, how about we cut the crap?"

"Yeah, I don't do teen drama. Take it up with Ty. Excuse me," she answered, walking past Caroline.

Caroline scoffed. "Who does she think she is?"

I shrugged. Caroline was jealous, and when girls are jealous, they don't think clearly.

Did Tyler have any aspirin?

Just like when I was trying to protect my friends and family, I didn't think clearly. And basically asked Klaus to put one of his hybrids up for suicide.

"Dean, you don't need to do this," the girl - Hayley - said.

"Stay out of this, Hayley. I'm going," the hybrid argued.

"Just listen to her, man. It's suicide," Tyler replied.

Caroline and I went into the room.

"Klaus told you to take Connor on by yourself and you can't even fight back? You have to use non-lethal force. What the hell is that?" Tyler said.

And since Connor can't be killed, the hybrid has to sacrifice himself.

"Klaus gave me a direct order," he said.

"It's too dangerous. That maniac already killed Nate," Hayley said.

"You're not a hybrid, you don't know what it's like. Klaus asks for something, you do it."

"Look, I'm a hybrid. I used to do everything Klaus said, but I don't anymore. You don't have to either."

"You think you can stand up to Klaus?" Dean handed Tyler his phone. "Prove it."

Tyler took the phone.

"Tyler, don't," Caroline begged.

He looked at Care and then at the phone. He dialed Klaus' number and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hey, Klaus."

_"Tyler! I hope you're not causing problems."_

"I can do whatever I want. I'm not sired to you anymore."

_"Fair enough. Although I do happen to know your little secret about your time in Appalachia. What was your friends' name? Hayley, was it? You probably prefer I kept that to myself."_

I looked at Caroline, who looked hurt and shocked.

_"I'm sorry, mate. Are you going to answer or should I just assume you're back to being… how did you phrase it? Ah, yes, my little bitch."_

Tyler hung up the phone and cleared his throat. He handed the phone back to Dean.

"Do whatever the hell you want," Tyler said, walking out of the room.

"That's it? You just back down?" Hayley went after Tyler.

Caroline looked like she was about to burst into tears. "Klaus is probably wrong, you know. He just wants to stir up shit."

She nodded.

"I'm gonna see what's going on. I'll catch up with you later."

* * *

_"Elena killed the hunter," _Stefan said over the phone.

"What?" I asked. "Is she alright?"

_"I dunno. Damon and I think she's in the woods."_

"I'll wait up for her," I said. "Call me when you find her, okay?"

_"I will."_

He hung up. There was a missed call from Bonnie. I hadn't talked to her in a while. Bonnie and I had grown closer since we both discovered we were witches. We both found out at around the same time, but she found out slightly before me.

I called her back and she answered.

"Hey, Bon."

_"Hey Lucy. Guess what? I got my magic back! Professor Shane helped me!"_

"That's great Bonnie. This guy must really be something. Are you sure he's just a human?"

_"Yeah, of course. Why would he lie?"_

"No reason. Its just. not many humans would know how to teach a witch."

_"He's just really interested in the occult."_

He stayed talking for hours. It had been a while since I had this; a taste of normality. My life was anything but normal, and I hated it, but at the same time, it made me who I was. I was a witch.

We hung up when I heard the door opening. Elena came into the living room.

"You look wrecked," I pointed out. "Are you alright?"

"Stefan told you, didn't he?" she said angrily. "That I killed the hunter! Soon everyone will know! They'll know that I'm a m-monster!"

She sat down on armchair and held her face in her hands.

I looked at her helplessly. She killed the hunter. Klaus was going to go mad. We needed that tattoo and we lost it. We also lost the cure.

"Your not a monster, Elena. You were protecting the ones you love. Because that's you."

"I killed someone, Lucy," she weeped. "That's not me!"

"It was in everyone's best nature," I reassured. _Actually its not. At all. _

"Did you and Stefan make a deal with Klaus?" she asked all of a sudden. I stayed silent. Stefan must have told her. "Lucy? Did you make a deal with Klaus?"

"Yes," I said.

"About what?" she pressed.

"I can't tell you," I said. "All I can tell you is that it's in your best interest."

"Please, Lucy," Elena replied. "Everyone's keeping stuff from me. You, Stefan... Please Lucy, tell me."

I shook my head and stood up. "I can't, Elena," I said. "I'm going to bed."

"Fine then," Elena huffed. "Lie some more."

I rolled my eyes and went upstairs. I felt bad about leaving her after she had just killed someone, but I would have felt worse if I lied to her.

I was going to get the cure.

Even if that meant ignoring Elena and lying to her. Lying to everyone.

I had to get it.


	6. A Little Manipulation

_A Little Manipulation_

I woke up with a start. I heard things breaking in the kitchen.

"LUCY!" Elena shouted.

I jumped out of bed and rushed to the kitchen.

Jeremy was on the floor; dead, I presumed.

My eyes widened in shock. "What happened?"

Elena checked his hand to see if his ring was on him, it was, but it didn't make her feel better by the look on her face.

"I killed him," she muttered. "I killed my own brother. I-I thought it was Connor... Oh my God, I killed Jeremy!"

"He has his ring, Elena, he'll be fine," I tried to reassure her.

"It drove Ric crazy because he died too many times!" Elena cried. "I just helped Jeremy go crazy! No, no. Jer! Jeremy!"

"Come on, help me put him on the couch," I said, gripping Jeremy's arms.

Elena grabbed his legs and we dragged him to the couch.

"Call Stefan," I said.

She shook her head. "I can't call him. He lied to me. So did you, actually."

I rolled my eyes. "It was for your own good. Now get a grip and call Stefan."

"I'm gonna call Damon," she said.

I sighed. "Fine."

* * *

I knelt by the couch while Elena paced behind me. She had called Damon and he came as quick as he could, playing the hero yet again.

"I can't believe this happened. What am I going to say to him?" she asked.

"Thanks for not ditching the family ring after it drove Ric crazy?" Elena glared at him. "You should have called Stefan."

"I tried telling her to," I said. "You're not the best company in a time like this."

He gave me a sardonic smile.

"I don't want to talk to Stefan," she said. She looked at me. "You two have been lying to me and hiding things from me. He compelled Jeremy to forget God knows what."

"In all fairness, I mean, I think you killing him kinda trumps that. And you should have called Stefan. "

"I don't trust him right now, Damon," Elena argued. She scowled at me.

At that time, Stefan walked in. "Hey."

"PS, I called Stefan," Damon admitted.

"What happened? Why didn't you call me?" Stefan asked, approaching Elena.

"I just - I need to go upstairs and shower. Clean all the blood off my hands," Elena left.

Jeremy gasped, coming back to life.

"Welcome back, Jer," I smiled.

"How are you feeling?" Stefan questioned.

"What happened?" Jeremy asked.

"Long story, buy the e-book," Damon said.

* * *

Stefan had went upstairs to talk to Elena, but I presumed she gave out to him for 'lying' to her. My twin could be so annoying and self-righteous sometimes.

Stefan came into the room. Damon and I were cleaning up the blood.

"Where's Jeremy?" I asked him, standing up.

"School," he answered. "Bonnie has him volunteering for some occult exhibit."

"Or maybe he didn't want to linger in a house where his sister just jammed a knife in his neck," Damon said.

My phone rang.

"It's Klaus," I said.

"Oooh, time to face the music. Pay the piper, dance with the devil," Damon said.

I looked to Stefan. "He _knows_?" I exclaimed.

"You know, I'm glad you find this amusing, Damon. If he finds out I told you about the cure, he'll kill all of us."

"Quit avoiding him," he said to me. "That means shady. Shady people get outed."

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Stefan asked.

I shook my head. "I'll be fine."

I answered the phone. "I don't want to talk about it, Klaus."

_"Well, I can't imagine why, love, what with you and Stefan ruining all my plans for a hybrid filled future."_

"If you hadn't sworn us to secrecy, then we could've told Elena, and she wouldn't have killed the hunter."

I looked to Damon, who nodded.

_"Well, life's full of ifs, Lucinda. But let's accentuate the positives, shall we? The hunter was one of five; we'll find another. It may take centuries, but we've got nothing but time, right?"_

"You're oddly calm today. Who's life is in danger?"

_"Not you, love, or Stefan if that's what you're worried about. But I am concerned about your sister. Have the hallucinations started yet?"_

I looked to Stefan. "What do you know?"

_"I'll tell you. Where are you?"_

"In my house."

_"And Stefan?"_

"He's here as well."

_"How convenient, so am I."_

Someone knocked on the door. I hung up and opened the front door, Stefan had followed me.

It was Klaus, of course. "Care to invite me in?"

"No way," I stepped outside and walked past Klaus, Stefan and said hybrid followed me.

"You know, this would all be a lot more civilized if I was just invited inside."

"It's bad enough we're out here talking to you. What do you know?" Stefan questioned.

"I killed the original five hunters, remember? When one kills a hunter, there's a bit of a consequence," he said.

"What kind of consequence?" Stefan asked.

"The hunters were spelled by witches to kill vampires," Klaus said. "If you prevent one from fulfilling his destiny then he'll take you down with him."

"But Connor's dead," I stated.

"Yes he is, sweetheart," Klaus said. "But Connor's death won't prevent him from making Elena his final vampire kill. She'll need to come with me now. I'll lock her up, keep her away from any sharp wooden objects."

"She's not going anywhere with you," Stefan declared.

"I second that."

"Well, if we leave her alone, she'll take her own life before the day is out," Klaus said.

"She's stronger than that," Stefan said.

"Is she? Believe me, it's for her own good."

"You're not taking her, Klaus," I said. "We won't take our eyes off her. But she's not going with you."

The front door burst open and Elena ran out, stopping at the porch.

Klaus smirked. "Are you sure about that, love?"

He super-speeded over to Elena and grabbed her and then ran away with her.

Damon walked out onto the porch, seeing Stefan and I by ourselves, without Klaus or Elena.

"Elena!" he yelled.

Stefan looked around, worried. "Klaus took her," he stated.

"Great, just _great_."

* * *

"You lost her?" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Well, lost is a very strong word, we just technically don't know where she is," Damon said.

"Klaus probably has her," I said. "He said that she'll want to kill herself because of this 'hunter's curse'."

"How does Klaus even know about this?" Bonnie asked.

"How does Klaus know anything? Guy's like a billion years old," Damon exaggerated.

"He said it was a witch's curse," Stefan explained.

"And since Lucy is pretty useless when it comes to anything other than aneurysms..." Damon mocked.

"Hey!"

"You know if I could do anything to help, I would. But I..."

"But nothing, wave your magic wand, hocus pocus, begone hunter ghostus, whatever," Damon said.

"The spirits won't let me do the magic I'd need to break the curse. But I can ask Shane for help, he knows everything about everything."

This Shane guy sounded dodge, to be honest. No human knew that much about the occult.

"Great," Stefan said. "Now, we have to get Elena back, and I think I have a plan." He looked to me.

"What?"

"We need you to distract him," he said.

I scoffed. "_Me_?" he nodded. "And how exactly am I supposed to do that."

"He's obsessed with you," Damon rolled his eyes. "I think you'll be a suitable distraction."

Them too? Why did everyone think that Klaus was into me? Or _obsessed _with me? He was a manipulator, that was all.

"Sure," I said sarcastically. "And you're in love with Bonnie."

"_What_?!" they both exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm being _sarcastic_, geez," I said. "Fine, I'll 'distract' him."

"Great, you all do your thing," he replied. He made to leave.

"Where are you going?" Damon asked.

"Making plans to get her back," he said before leaving.

Damon looked me up and down. I raised my eyebrows. "Can I help you?"

"You'll have to do a little better than jogging bottoms if you want to seduce Klaus," he said.

I scoffed. "I'll go change then, judgy."

* * *

Klaus was sitting at the bar, drinking a glass of wine. I had to mentally prepare myself for the manipulating I was about to do. All I had thought about since Stefan had sent me to distract Klaus was if Klaus did really fancy me. I mean, if everyone could see it, then maybe his feelings were real.

I approached Klaus, muttering encouragements to myself all the way.

"I never thought you were a daytime drinker," I said.

"Lucinda. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Usually, I hated it when people called me 'Lucinda', but, for some reason, I liked the way he said it. Maybe it was the British accent... It had to be the British accent.

"I want my sister, Klaus," I said.

"Ah, they sent you to sweet talk me," he deduced. "Well, good form, but I'm afraid I can't do it."

"Look, I know she's on suicide watch and all, but it'd be really, really good of you if you gave her back," he stared at me, amused and quirking an eyebrow. "Cause you've decided to be a good person today?" I tried.

He chuckled and smiled. "As much as I'm enjoying this," he responded, "I can't give her to you. She needs my help."

I scoffed. "Of course she does."

I ordered a drink from the busboy. Matt wasn't on today.

"As I've already told you, I killed five of the hunters," he said. "I had to go through fifty-two years of never-ending torture. Any sharp object, any object that's remotely dangerous to her, will prompt Elena to kill herself."

"And you can do what?" I asked. "Imprison her in a cushiony rooms until they stop? Offer free counselling?"

My phone kept on beeping. As I checked it, Klaus said, "If I let her go home, its only a matter of time before she kills herself."

_Stefan: We lost Elena. Keep Klaus distracted._

I put my phone back into my pocket.

I laughed at the irony of it all. "You know, its funny how human this is; a teenager with suicidal thoughts. Then you realise it's because she killed a vampire hunter and is now stuck with a curse for who knows how long."

"You sound as if you don't like being part of the supernatural world," he said. "That you don't enjoy being a witch."

"Oh I do," I said. "It's just... Sometimes I like the idea of being normal, not having to worry about what supernatural creature is going to attack next. But being human means being defenseless, and I like being able to do magic, to protect the ones I care about." I smiled. "And it's not the worst thing, I suppose." Why was I telling all this to him?

"I've forgotten what it's like to be human, it's been so long," he said. His expression darkened. "But I do remember some things. Some things stay with you for over a thousand years; no matter how much you try to forget them."

_His dad_. He was talking about his dad abusing him. I tried to disguise my pity, since that was probably the last thing he wanted.

I raised my glass. "Here's to horrible parents."

He smiled and joined me in my toast to his father and my biological mother, Isobel.

My phone beeped again.

_Stefan: We found a way to stop the hallucinations. Jeremy needs to kill a vampire. Get Klaus to give up one of his hybrids or find a vampire._

Why did I have to do the dirty work?

"So, Klaus," I smiled innocently. "I know you probably expected this, but I didn't just come here to get you to release Elena."

"You don't say," he replied sarcastically

"I actually came to distract you while Stefan broke her out, and he did. And then the idiot lost her." Klaus got up, furious. I stood up. "Klaus."

Klaus whipped around. "Lucinda, you're beautiful, but if you don't stop talking, I might just kill you."

He turned back around and started to walk off.

"They figured out how to stop the hallucinations," I called.

He turned around and walked back. "Okay, you have ten seconds to tell me," he said.

"Jeremy's a hunter and he needs to activate his mark by killing a vampire, or something like that," I explained. "And I was hoping you could maybe give up one of your hybrids?"

He smirked. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you want this curse gone so that Elena won't kill yourself and you can get your hybrids," I said. "And Connor said that the more vampires he killed, the more the tattoo revealed itself. This could be the first step to completing the map and finding the cure."

"And what if I don't care about my hybrids anymore, love?" he taunted.

I scoffed and glared at him. "You're playing games, Klaus," I said. "And we don't have time."

"But I might consider if you do one little thing for me."

His smirk widened and I got chills. I was thinking of the worst.

"And what's that?"

"Go on a date with me," he said.

It was certainly not the worst thing we could've asked. I was relieved, but I didn't show it.

"Fine," I agreed. "Now, may we have one of your hybrids?"

"Indeed you can, love."

* * *

I lay down on the couch in the Salvatore boarding house, nothing better to do with the rest of my day. I pulled up the blanket over my bare legs. I was wearing skirts and dresses more than usual. A year ago, at the start of freshman year, I wouldn't be caught dead of anything but jeans, shorts or tracksuit bottoms, but my taste was more feminine these days.

The door banged close. I looked up and saw Stefan, who looked crestfallen.

"You look depressed," I said. His eyes snapped over to me. "What has my sister done now?"

"We're over," he answered. He went over to the cabinet where he and Damon kept their liquor. "Me and Elena. She feels something for Damon, so who am I to get in the way of their budding romance?"

"But she chose you," I said, sitting up on the couch. Stefan sat on the armchair and brought the alcohol to his mouth.

"Yeah, well, now she chose Damon," he replied.

"And now you're venting your feelings into alcohol," I noted.

"Better than becoming a ripper again," he said.

This wasn't right. Elena was creating a rift between the Salvatore brothers.

"Enough about Elena," he said gruffly. "How'd you get Klaus to give up one of his hybrids? You can't be that charming."

"I - uh - I agreed to go on a date with him," I stuttered.

He raised his eyebrows. He looked amused. "When?"

"No clue," I said. "Hopefully he'll forget about it and I won't have to."

He snorted and took another swig of his liquor. "I doubt that. He's finally gotten a date with you. Klaus isn't going to give up until he gets it."

Once again another person said that Klaus' feelings were genuine. A part of me hoped that they were. That I wasn't being played and made a fool of. But another part of me feared that they were genuine and that I would fall for him. I didn't want that.

"I don't get why everyone thinks Klaus is into me," I exclaimed, getting up and going to Damon's liquor cabinet.

"Maybe because its so obvious," Stefan snorted. "You're the only one who doesn't see it."

I took out a bottle of bourbon, sat down on the couch and took a swig of it.

"Why would he anyway? I'm not Elena."

He stared at me. "No, you're not," he said. "But you're intelligent, witty, strong, beautiful. I think I could understand why he would."

* * *

**A/N: What do you think? Please review. **

**Klaus/Lucy isn't going to really happen until later on in the season or maybe in the next season (depending on which route I take). Who do you think would be a good pairing until then? If any? **


	7. Sire Bonds

_Sire Bonds_

"I cannot believe I let you talk me into this," I grumbled.

Caroline smiled innocently. "You agreed out of your own free will," she reminded me.

"You call thirty text messages saying 'get the hell over here' free will?" I asked. "I didn't even enter the pageant last year! And I'm missing swimming practice because of this."

Caroline rolled her eyes. The only sport she participated in was cheerleading. She didn't understand how important sports were to me. Athletics, swimming and soccer were my favourites. Though, I had to quit soccer because my days were too full with supernatural drama to actually have a normal life.

"Did you hear about Stefan and Elena's break up?" Caroline asked.

I nodded. "He told me the night it happened."

"She dumped him for Damon!" she exclaimed. "For _Damon_! The _bad_ brother! And she had Stefan... and they were so cute together!"

"I thought it was a mutual agreement," I told her, shrugging. "He saw that she felt something for Damon." Caroline cringed. "So he stepped out of the way."

"And now he's at risk of going on a ripper-bend," Caroline stated. "Elena's being stupid. I tried talking some sense into her-"

"And she wouldn't listen?" I predicted. She nodded. "To be honest, I can't stand her being with Damon and dropping Stefan like that. He's not good for her. She may be good for him, but he isn't good for her."

She groaned. "Its just _so _difficult to stand by and watch as she ruins her life."

"I know," I said. "How about you plan a kick-ass Miss Mystic Fall pageant and forget all about the Stefan-Damon-Elena drama?"

She nodded her head in agreement. "You're right."

* * *

I arranged the flowers in the vase like Caroline had taught me. I stepped outside, to see Caroline yelling at a couple of girls.

"...floral chart that you guys had plenty of time to memorize."

The three girls that she had been terrorising turned around and walked off.

"Yeah, thank you," she called.

Caroline looked down at her clipboard.

I snorted. "What did those poor girls ever do to you?"

"They're going to ruin the pageant," she said.

"Oh, the horror of flowers being placed in the wrong pattern."

She ignored me. I was bored and rearranging flowers or moving boxes was not on my list of fun things to do. I'd much rather be at home, my hair wet from swimming and reading a book or watching TV.

"I never thought you were one for pageants."

I whipped around to see a familiar hybrid. "Klaus," I greeted. "What are you doing here?"

He grinned. "At least try to hide your displeasure, love," he said.

"I'm gonna go," Caroline said, pointed behind her to the door.

She left and I mentally cursed her for leaving me alone with him.

"Seriously, what are you doing here?" I tried to sound a bit more pleasant.

"I was wondering what time I should pick you up tomorrow," he enquired.

So he remembered. Stefan was right, he wouldn't let this go.

"Oh, you remembered..." I looked away from him.

Klaus edged towards me. "I was promised a date in return for one of my hybrids."

"And I was kinda hoping you forgot," I said, sighing.

"I'm sure you won't be co-hosting the party alone," he said.

"I have Caroline, we decided to go together," I shrugged. He looked at me with puppy dog eyes. Ha, no pun intended. I sighed and smiled. "Fine. Meet me here at 2PM."

"Very well then," he smiled, like _genuinely _smiled. He didn't _smirk _or _grin_. He smiled, and it was nice. "I look forward to it."

"See you then," I turned around and went to find Caroline to tell her about the change in plan.

She'd be angry, and disappointed, but she'd understand that I made a deal that I had to keep. When I found her, she was yelling at yet another innocent soul in the hall.

I slowly wandered over to the Caroline. I got a little scared of the girl sometimes, especially when she was stressed or busy.

"What did Klaus want?" she asked me, writing on her clipboard.

"You know the way I had to promise to go on a date with Klaus to get him to agree to give over one of his hybrids?" I said quickly.

She looked at me oddly. "Yeah..."

"Well, now I have to cash in on that favour," I replied. "Today. At two. He wants to be my date."

Her mouth dropped. "And did you agree?" I nodded guiltily. "Great! Now I have no one to go with!"

"Why can't you go with Tyler?" I had been meaning to ask her that earlier, but what with her being stressed out about the pageant and Klaus... I suppose I forgot.

She groaned. "We have to pretend that Tyler's been cheating on me with Hayley so that Klaus doesn't suspect that they're unsiring the hybrids," she explained. "I guess I'll just have to go alone."

"I am so, so sorry, Care," I apologised. "If I had a choice, I'd much rather go with you than him."

"Mhmm," she said. "_Sure_."

* * *

April held up two dresses for Elena, Caroline and me to choose from. I was bored, munching on some crisps.

"Blue," Caroline and Elena said.

"Really? The blue seems a little safe," April noted. She looked to me. "Lucy?"

I shrugged. "I dunno," I said, shoving a handful of crisps into my mouth, earning a disgusting glance from both Caroline and Elena. "What?" I swallowed the crisps. "The blue one's nice, I suppose."

Elena shook her head and diverted her attention back to April. "And safe is good when it comes to the judges," she said.

"She's right," Caroline said. "Gracie Lockwood had a three foot slit her year and practically got laughed off the court."

Elena and I laughed. Just then, Damon entered the room.

"She got my vote," he said.

Elena stared at him, breathless. She was so dramatic. Caroline threw something black at Damon's chest.

"Get out, lurker!"

"Ouch," Damon said sarcastically. Caroline stomped over to him. "Where's Professor Shane?"

"Check the judges' table," she said.

Caroline tried to close the door on him, but Damon pushed in back open. And since he was older, he was a whole lot stronger. Caroline strided over to Elena and I.

"Red one, definitely," he said.

Caroline stopped in the middle of the room, between me and Elena and Damon. She crossed her arms.

"We've already agreed that the red one is a little bit too showy," Caroline informed him.

She glanced to Elena and me for back-up.

"Uh-huh," I nodded.

"It's a pageant. That's the whole point," Damon said.

Caroline placed her hands on her hips. "Did you win Miss Mystic last year? No. I don't think you did."

"Neither did Elena and she wore blue," Damon said.

"Nobody cares what you think," Caroline snarled.

"I care," April Young stated.

"See? April cares. Red, right, Elena?" Damon asked.

Caroline gave Elena a dirty look, as if trying to threaten her into saying 'no'.

It didn't work.

She looked at April and the dresses. "The red is pretty," Elena stated.

Caroline's face fell. I cocked up an eyebrow.

"And my work here is done," Damon left us alone.

Caroline turned around to look back at Elena. "Uh, what happened to thirty seconds ago when you hated the red one? What happened to 'safe is good'?"

Elena stared at her, appearing distracted. She shook her head and fixed her attention to April and the dresses.

"Whichever one you want to wear, April."

She rushed out of the room. Caroline and I stood there, confused and too shocked to say anything.

"What just happened?" Caroline asked.

"I have no clue."

* * *

"Welcome to this season's Miss Mystic Falls," Mrs. Lockwood introduced the pageant.

Everyone clapped. I didn't like beauty pageants. I wasn't interested in being judged by looks or how well I could dance, which I couldn't do to save my life. Elena was the beauty pageant-girly one, I was the occassionally-girly tomboy.

"We are so excited to showcase our most outstanding community leaders in the making."

I got some champagne from one of the waiters. I loved the way no one cared if you were underaged at these things.

I went over to Damon, who was just talking to Professor Shane.

"What are you doing with my sister?"

He smirked at me. "I've 'done' nothing with Elena."

"Then why is she acting like your little puppet?" I asked.

Damon's face scrunched up in disbelief. "She's not acting like my little puppet. Maybe she's actually into me? Can any of you even stomach the thought that I'm not doing anything bad for once?"

"I can," I said. "It's when her opinions change as soon as you say something that differs to them that I suspect that something's up."

"Nothings 'up'," he said. "I just have great opinions."

I felt my glass of champagne being snatched out of my hand. I looked to see an angry looking blonde glaring at me.

"What are you doing?" she asked snappishly. "You are supposed to be helping me with pageant duty!"

"Fine, fine," I said defensively, trying to calm her down. "Just relax."

She took a deep breath, which didn't seem to help or calm her down at all. "Tell the busboy that there are to be no empty glasses," she ordered before rushing away, presumably to yell at someone.

I groaned. "Well off you go," Damon prompted. "Don't want to anger bossy-pants over there."

I went over to the waiter and told him to 'be a busboy and start bussing'. The poor guy looked frightened and I kinda felt bad for scolding him.

I heard a chuckle from behind me. I whipped around to see Klaus, dressed perfectly in a suit and a bow-tie.

"I never knew you could be so frightening," he commented, amused. He held out his arms, inviting me to examine his attire. "How did I do?"

I searched for something wrong with how he was dressed, but he looked perfect. There wasn't one stain or one thing out of place.

"Fine," I snapped. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself, like Caroline had failed to do. "You look fine. You look perfect."

He smiled another one of those genuine, sweet smiles that made me swoo- no, they didn't make me 'swoon', nor did they make my heartbeat quicken. He was just smiling, something loads of people do. I felt _nothing_.

"As do you, love," he complimented.

I wasn't wearing anything special. Just an orange, skater dress that went down to mid-thigh. I wore my hair up in a high ponytail, as I always do. My hair was curly and long and, when down, fell down to mid-back.

"Thank you," I said.

"Hi, everyone, I'm Caroline Forbes," I looked up at Caroline behind the podium. "As the reigning Miss Mystic Falls, it is my honor to introduce this year's Miss Mystic Court."

Everyone clapped. The music started playing as Caroline began the introduction of the potential Miss Mystic Falls.

"We begin the procession with Valerie Fell accompanied by Dylan Clark. Next, we have Amber Wolvertine accompanied by Hector Lindsay."

The crowd clapped as the respective girls were announced. I saw Matt going over to Elena, looking worried. Then I realised why they were worried; Jeremy wasn't there. He was meant to be April Young's escort. He either bailed on her or he was in trouble. Both were horrible.

"Excuse me," I said to Klaus as I went over to my sister and Matt.

"Yeah, Caroline told me to wrangle the escorts, he's not here," Matt was telling Elena.

"Lucy, did you see Jeremy?" Elena asked me as soon as she saw me.

I shook my head. Elena was starting to worry, as was I.

"Did he tell you about his nightmares?" Matt asked.

"What nightmares?" Elena and I questioned simultaneously. Usually, when we said the same thing we would grin and laugh and joke about our twin-telepathy, something we hadn't done in a long time. But this was too serious a moment to be laughing. We actually had to act like adults and not teenagers these days.

"The ones where he kills Elena," he said.

Elena raised her eyebrows and I gaped.

"Katherine Wilson accompanied by Eric Hanson," Caroline called and Katherine was given a round of applause.

"I'll find him, but…" Elena sighed as April started to descend the stairs. "April's about to get abandoned."

"I got this," Matt said.

"Okay."

Matt walked away, about to play April's knight in shining armour.

"And finally, we have a last minute entry, April Young accompanied by Jeremy Gilbert."

April continued to walk down the steps. She stopped and looked around for Jeremy. Jeremy better have a good excuse. Matt, upon arriving at where the other escorts had stood, offered his arm to April. She walked down the remaining steps, smiling, and took Matt's arm.

I looked around for Jeremy, but he was no where. Elena walked out of the crowd and I followed her, hoping she knew what to do or had some sort of clue to where he was.

She took out her phone. Caroline rushed down the steps and to us.

"Hey, what's with the last minute escort change? Where is Jeremy?"

"We don't know," I told her.

"I'm calling him right now."

Damon joined the worrying-about-Jeremy club.

"He's not picking up," Elena said.

"Do the math. Emo teen, open bar, it's fine," Damon reassured.

"Matt said that Jeremy's been having nightmares about killing vampires and he's been hiding it from me."

Damon shrugged it off.

"Relax, I'm sure he's fine."

"I don't know. I have a bad feeling," Elena said.

"If I'm not worried, you shouldn't be worried. Let it go. I'll go look for him."

"Okay," Elena agreed with him. Which was all she was doing lately.

"I'm gonna start asking around here," Caroline said, leaving.

"Maybe Damon's right," Elena said. "Maybe he grabbed a bottle from the bar and snuck off to the woods."

"No, Elena. Damon isn't right. Damon's never right! He's manipulative and rude and just a damn-right bad person. Why can't you see that?"

"I don't know, but why do I think that you won't hesitate to tell me?" Elena said.

"Fine. I'm sick of beating around the bush anyway. Your so called "feelings" for Damon are changing you. You've become so fickle around him and it's like he's compelling you to agree with him, but he's not." Klaus came over and stood next to me. "And I don't like it, Elena. He's a bad person and you're being silly and stupid. You shouldn't be with him."

"Easy, love, you're making a scene," Klaus warned.

"Wow, Lucy, thank you for making this very difficult time so much easier," Elena said. "First, you lie to me and hide things from me, then you ignore me, and now you're telling me that I'm stupid? So much for 'sisterly love'."

Elena walked off in a huff. I stared after her, feeling guilty. I wasn't purposely ignoring her, maybe unconsciously, but I realised that I should have been there for her these few weeks. I had been so absorbed in finding out about the cure that I had forgotten that my twin needed me, now more than ever.

"How did I become the bad guy?"

Klaus moved from beside me to in front of me with an amused look on his face. "Let's get you a drink. I'll tell you all about being the bad guy."

* * *

Klaus and I walked next to the pond.

"I mean, as her sister, I'm obligated to stop her from making huge mistakes, right? She's not herself anymore. And she's taking Damon's side on absolutely everything."

"So, being a vampire's changed her?" Klaus asked, carrying a bottle of champagne and two glasses.

"She's turned into a completely different person," I said. "But vampirism doesn't turn you into someone else, it only amplifies who you are."

"It's very peculiar," Klaus smirked.

He knew something. I recognised that look. He gave me that look when he hinted about the cure. Ugh, I hated that look.

"What do you know?" I pressed. His smirk widened. "Oh come on, Klaus! And don't give me that 'you'll find out soon' or 'only time will tell' crap." He was chuckling. He was actually _chuckling_ at my expense. "You're amused by this? Seriously? Well, you know what, screw you."

I sat down on the bench and crossed my arms sulkily, giving Klaus further enjoyment.

He placed the champagne and the glasses beside me.

"It'll all make sense eventually," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "The sooner we find the cure, the sooner she's back to her old self and everything will be right and dandy."

He placed the champagne next to me. "I'm working on it."

Klaus sat next to me on the bench and tried to open the champagne bottle.

"Would you ever take it?" I asked. "The cure?"

"Now, why would I want to cure myself of being the most powerful creature on the planet? Hm?" he said.

"You must have wanted to be human at least once in your thousand years," I said.

"How about you?" Klaus inquired. "If there was a cure for witches, would you take it?"

"I told you, I don't really mind being a witch," I said. "I just don't like the supernatural drama that comes with it."

"Maybe someday you'll learn to embrace it," he said. "And you'll let me show you the world."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah? And where would we go first?"

"Where would you like to go?" he grinned.

I thought about it. I hadn't really been anywhere.

"France," I said. "Maybe I can put my French to use."

"You speak French?" he asked.

"And Latin," I told him. "But all witches know Latin. It's kinda a must-do for witches."

"I've learned so many languages in my thousand years that I couldn't name them all," he said. "I've forgotten most of them."

My phone beeped. "A thousand years is a long time," I said as I checked my phone.

_Stefan: Jeremy's ok. He was with me. Don't tell Klaus._

I sighed and put my phone into my bag.

"Anything wrong, love?"

For the first time, I felt bad hiding something from him. Lying to him.

"No, they found Jeremy," I said. "He was with Stefan this whole time."

Klaus nodded. I suppose that sigh could have been taken as a sigh of relief instead of disappointment.

"You must care about your brother a lot," he noted. "And your sister."

"Of course, they're my family," I responded.

He seemed pensive after I said that. Family didn't mean much to Klaus since he kept them all in a coffin.

Then I realised who I was talking to, who I was having fun with. The man who daggered his own siblings simply because they displeased him, the man who staked Jenna.

I stood up quickly, causing Klaus to stare at me oddly. "Are you alright, love?"

I nodded and took a step back. "I'm just gonna - Woah!"

There had been nothing for me put my foot on, so I fell back into the water. I prepared myself myself for the splash when two strong arms caught me. One arm was around my back and the other supported my legs. I opened one eye and saw that Klaus caught me.

"Thanks," I said - or whispered, maybe.

His eyes were a dark, oceanic blue. It was difficult to believe that he had done all of those things, like killing Jenna. His past had made him that way. His father abused him and his mother neglected him. He had never known love, so whenever someone offered it, he shut them out. He hated being disappointed after so many disappointments in his life, or showing weakness, so he retaliated by showing that he had the power. That he was stronger. And that was heartbreaking.

But it didn't excuse what he did.

"Uh... Could you - you know - let me down?"

* * *

"I never answered your question; if I ever thought about being human," Klaus said, stopping. "Once, I was on a trek in the Andies, and a hummingbird flew up to me. It just hovered there, staring at me, its tiny heart was pattering like a machine gun. And I thought, what a thing, you know, to have to work that hard every day just to stay alive. To be constantly on the verge of death and how satisfying every day must be that it survived. And that was the only time I thought about being human."

I smiled. "Thank you," I said. "For today... I actually had fun."

"I did as well," he replied. "Maybe again sometime?"

I nodded. "Maybe."

* * *

"Elena's right. I just - I need to let go," Stefan said, handing me a shot of alcohol.

"No, Stefan, don't give up on her," I urged. "I know it's difficult, but don't give up on her just yet."

"Lucy, she looked me in the eye and she told me to move on."

"There's something wrong with her. Damon and her aren't right for each other. We'll find the cure and we'll shove it down her throat and everything will be right again." Stefan didn't respond. "Stefan, you have to keep looking for the cure."

"Klaus won't let me bail, even if I wanted to," he said. "He wants Elena human so he can make more hybrids."

"He's gonna need them," I said. "Tyler's got almost all of them unsired. Which means no more hybrid slaves-"

Sired. When Tyler was sired, he was Klaus' 'bitch'. He only did what Klaus wanted him to do. His only purpose was to please Klaus. Damon sired Elena, and since she turned, she hasn't been able to say no to Damon.

"Oh my God."

Stefan looked at me, confused.

Elena was sirebonded to Damon, that explained everything. Why she suddenly fell in love with him and out of love for Stefan.

"Shit."

He shot me a 'what the heck is going on' look.

"I was trying to understand why Klaus was so intrigued by Damon and Elena. He said I would figure it out. This is what he was talking about."

"What are you talking about?"

"Every time Elena's had a problem, Damon's always been the hero. Today, Elena was worried about Jeremy. Damon tells her to relax. She relaxes." Stefan still looked confused. "When Elena started feeding, who said that she could only drink blood straight from the vein?"

A look of realisation crossed Stefan's features. "Damon."

"And when she tried to drink from animals?" I asked.

"She couldn't keep it down," he answered.

"Blood bags?"

"Same thing."

"Name a vampire in the history in vampirism who couldn't drink for a blood bag. Damon said she couldn't, so she couldn't. Damon likes the red dress. Elena suddenly _loves _the red dress."

"Damon says kill Connor and she kills Connor."

"It's possible," I said. "Damon's blood made her into a vampire. It's rare, but could happen."

Stefan leaned forward. "Elena's sired to Damon."

I nodded. "And we have to find a way to fix it."

* * *

**A/N: I know it may seem like I'm anti-Delena, but I'm not. But Damon doesn't seem like the type of guy that you'd want your sister to date, and Lucy is over-protective as it is.**

**Please review.**


	8. Disastrous Girls' Night

_Disastrous Girls' Nights_

"This is a disaster!" Caroline exclaimed when we told her. "Elena's sired to Damon... oh my God!"

Stefan was staying in Caroline's house and had told her about our discovery.

"Look, we don't know anything for sure," Stefan said.

"Yeah, we do," I said. "Elena's been his little lapdog these past few days. Her only desire is to please him, just like Klaus and the hybrids."

"No it's not," Stefan stated. "A vampire sired to another vampire is one in a million. Maybe it won't affect her the same way."

"But its already affecting her," I argued. "She doesn't have her own a opinions anymore. Its like she's a puppet and Damon has the strings." Stefan stared at me. "You know its true, Stefan."

Caroline looked between us. "Lucy's right," Caroline agreed. "We need to do something!" She pulled out her phone.

"Wait, no, hold on Caroline," Stefan stopped her from calling Elena. "This isn't gossip. You can't just drop this on her before we know what's happening for sure."

"I need to talk to Tyler, okay?" she said. "Maybe he'll know what to do."

"Alright, talk to Tyler but please don't tell anyone else," Stefan begged. "If this is true-"

"Which it is," I said, interrupting him.

"-then it may have influence on Elena's every action and emotion since she became a vampire."

Caroline nodded. "I won't."

* * *

"How's Tyler getting on with un-siring the hybrids?" I asked Caroline.

She threw some books into her locker. "Good," she said and smiled. "One more to go. Speaking of Tyler," she looked past me. I turned around and saw him. She shut her locker and went over to Tyler and hugged him.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi," he replied, smiling. He nodded to me and I smiled.

The smile on her face was replaced with a serious expression. "Okay, so something's wrong with Elena," she said.

Tyler looked worried. "Why? What happened?" he asked, glancing from Caroline to me.

"She's sired by Damon," I said.

He raised an eyebrow. "But vampires can't be sired."

"They can," Caroline said. "It's rare, but they can."

"She's been Damon's little lapdog since she turned and she only does what he says," I added. "She can't stomach blood from animals or from blood-bags because _he _tells her she can only drink from the vein. What else are we to think?"

Tyler shook his head. "I don't know how that's possible, since a hybrid's sire-bond comes from their gratitude towards Klaus for no longer having to turn on a full moon. That's why we have to turn until we're not ruled by the pain anymore."

"Then what would the vampire equivalent be?" Caroline asked thoughtfully.

Tyler shrugged. "No clue," he replied. "Hey, look, I gotta get to practice. I'll catch up with you later."

Caroline nodded, captured by her thoughts.

What did vampirism relieve someone of? And why didn't all vampires have a sire bond? What was so special in Elena's case?

We walked back over to our lockers. "There's got to be something we can do," Caroline rambled, leaning on her locker. "We can't just let her be Damon's lapdog forever!"

I nodded.

"Hey," Bonnie was standing beside me. "What are you two so worried about?"

"Nothing," Caroline said, shaking her head.

"Really?" Bonnie pressed.

"Elena had to move out," I told her, changing the subject. "Jeremy's been having dreams about killing vampires, so she moved to the Salvatore Boarding House."

"Ooh," Bonnie cringed. "That must be awkward."

"Stefan's staying at my place for a bit," Caroline said. "He's being the good guy."

I saw Elena coming down the hall to us, her hair in a messy bun. She looked like she had just gotten up.

"Elena, hey. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't it be?" Elena asked, smiling.

"Well, Lucy told me you had to move out to stay away from Jeremy."

"Matt and Lucy are still in the house with him and Matt is at the house staying with him right now to make sure he keeps all of his hunter stuff in control. He's OK."

"But are you? I mean, clearly, they don't have a flat iron at hotel Salvatore," Caroline giggled.

"Oh - I was in a rush. I mean - look, do you girls have any plans tonight? I'm in desperate need of some girl talk." She shook her hair and took out the bun.

"I'm in," Bonnie said. "Shane taught me some small spells I've been wanting to try." She looked to me. "I could teach them to you if you'd like."

I didn't trust 'Shane' or his spells.

I shook my head. "No, thanks, Bon. I'll stick with what I have."

Bonnie looked hurt.

"Creepy Professor Guy is just Shane now," Caroline commented.

"He's not creepy," Bonnie defended.

"No, he's shady, suspicious, weird _and _creepy all-in-one!" I said in a mock-chipper voice.

Elena shot me a look. "We're not judging."

"I am," Caroline said.

"Me too."

"Don't listen to them. So, girls' night? We can raid the Salvatore wine cellar," she suggested.

Caroline looked unsure. "Um, are you sure that Stefan and Damon are cool with us crashing at their place?"

She looked behind me at someone. "I can't go home because my brother is trying to kill me," Elena said. "So their place is mine now, too. I'll see you in a bit."

* * *

After school, Elena, Caroline, Bonnie and I hung out at the Salvatore's. Elena carried in a wooden box and pulled out some wine, offering some to each of us.

"Ooh," Caroline said, accepting hers.

"I'm assuming this is for Caroline," Bonnie said, holding up a blood-bag.

Caroline reached for it, but Elena snatched it before she could get it. _Rude_.

"Actually, it's for me," Elena said.

Bonnie, Caroline and I shared a look, all of us were surprised.

"I thought-" Caroline started.

"Oh. Are you saying that-"

Elena drank from the blood-bag in a very show-and-tell sort of way, showing that she could stomach the blood.

My eyes widened. "This is impossible. I thought you couldn't keep it down?"

She gave me a little smirk. "Thanks to Damon, I am now a functional dysfunctional vampire."

"That's amazing," Bonnie said.

Caroline and I glanced at other in realisation. "Uh, what do you mean "thanks to Damon?'" Caroline asked.

"Let me guess," I began. "He suggested that you should try again and, for some unknown reason, you were magically able to stomach it this time?"

She smiled and nodded. "Pretty much it," she responded. "No more snatch, eat, erase."

Of course, I was happy for Elena, but this proved that she was sire-bonded to Damon. At least this explained why she was falling for him.

"So, where is my least favorite Salvatore?" Caroline questioned.

Elena sat beside me and on the couch opposite of Caroline and Bonnie.

"'Out with Stefan for the night, don't wait up. Brother bonding'," she read from her phone.

"Hm, so you guys check-in text now? What else do you do?" Caroline pressed.

"I know that you're not the biggest fan, but he kind of just changed my life. Would you mind laying off on all the hate?" She turned to me. "You too, Lucy. Every time I mention Damon you give me this judgmental, disapproving stare." She laughing derisively. "And its not like you have the right to judge me since you're falling for a bigger monster than Damon ever was."

"What are you on about?" I asked.

"Klaus," she answered. Had she gone insane? "And don't look at me like that. I'm not stupid you know, none of us are. We see the way you look at him. Is it because he's the first guy in a year to actually take an interest in you?"

I clenched my fist, trying to keep my temper in check. None of what she was saying was true. She was just hurt.

"I don't feel anything for him," I said through gritted teeth. "And I'm not desperate."

She scoffed. "Sure you're not," she said.

I glared at her and she glared right back. I hated when she got like this, all defensive and irritating.

Caroline coughed to break the tension, but it was Bonnie who spoke.

"Okay, new girls' night rule - no boy talk, yeah? Plus, why talk when we have this?" she held up a bag full of something black.

"Is that stoner tea?" Caroline exclaimed.

"It's spirit tea," Bonnie reassured her. "It opens up your chi or whatever." Caroline looked unconvinced. "Come on, it's not drugs! Shane is helping me do natural magic without having to access the spirits."

"Mmhm," Caroline mumbled.

"Don't judge," Bonnie said, she looked to me. "You too."

"Hey! I didn't say anything!" I insisted defensively. "I may think this shady-Shane guy is weird, but I'm not judging." Bonnie raised her eyebrow. "Fine, I'm judging. I'm sorry. I'll try not to judge again tonight. I promise."

Bonnie and Elena looked to Caroline, waiting for her oath.

"OK, fine!" she broke. "I hereby vow not to be judgmental for the rest of the evening! Even if you two are potentially ruining your lives as I stand idly by, it's your choice."

Elena stood up. "I'll drink to that." Caroline, Bonnie and I clinked our wine bottles while Elena touched our glasses with the blood-bag. "Cheers."

* * *

After that, things got better. I didn't realise how much I needed a girl's night until I was dancing on the Salvatore's coffee table.

We danced while we drank and fake-cat walked while Bonnie captured it all on her phone. Elena super-sped to the dining room and stood on the table, grabbing another bottle of champagne. We cheered for her. She super-sped back into the sitting room and popped open the champagne. She poured herself and me a glass.

We wrapped our arms around each other. "Group hug!" I called.

We all laughed as we fell onto the couch in a very awkward position.

"Last one to Damon's bathroom is a rotten egg!" Elena yelled, super-speeding away, followed by Caroline.

"Hey, no fair!" Bonnie called after them. She looked to me. "I am so not being the rotten egg," she said before taking off.

I laughed and ran after her. "Bonnie Bennett, I am so getting there before you."

I felt very proud of myself when I did. Ten years of running paid off.

Elena was lying in the tub, Caroline sitting next to her. Bonnie and I knelt down beside her.

"Bonnie's the rotten egg!" Caroline joked.

"Hey, you used vampire speed," Bonnie said. The vampires giggled. Bonnie took out her phone and handed it to Elena. "Speaking of vampire-speed, check this out."

Elena laughed as she watched the video. "I look like Superman. Watch this," she paused it at where she super-sped into the sitting room, a blur behind her. "This year's Christmas card." We laughed. "Being a vampire is so weird. Oh my God, I love this bathtub. Why don't we come and hang out here more often?"

"I'll tell you why. Cooties. Think of all the germ-ridden skanks that Damon has lured into his den of inequity."

Caroline giggled. It was funny, but I had promised to be good for the night. Bonnie and Elena didn't look amused at all, especially Elena.

"Ok, I'm sorry. I've been good all night. I am stopping now," Caroline declared.

"No, don't stop on my account," Elena said sarcastically. "Rip away. I mean, it's only Damon, right? Anything you want to add, Lucy?"

I shook my head and tried, for the second time that night, to control my uncontrollable temper.

"Well, say what you want about Ripper Stefan, but at least he wasn't a man slut," Caroline replied.

"Come on," Bonnie begged.

"So, what exactly was it about him that made you jump right into bed with him as soon as you met him?" Elena asked.

I thought that was horrible for her to mention that. Damon had put Caroline through so much. He abused her and made her like him. It was bad enough Elena was falling for Damon, but to bring up their past relationship... that was low.

"I didn't know what a sociopathic narcissist he was," Caroline snarled.

"He's always been there for me when I needed him," Elena said.

"Yeah, because he's hoping you'll sleep with him," Caroline said derisively.

"Well, maybe I did," Elena said.

I gaped at her, as did Caroline and Bonnie.

"You did what?" Caroline exclaimed dramatically.

"You didn't," Bonnie said.

"Yeah, I did," Elena nodded, seemingly not ashamed of her actions.

I sighed. "Elena, he's not-"

"Good for me?" she finished. "Like I said, he's been there for me. I have this connection and... Look, I know the three of you have issues with him, but I'm happy, and I wanted to spend tonight with my best friends and my sister so that I could tell them about it."

Elena got out of the bathroom and stormed off.

I felt guilty. I wasn't being supportive about this at all. In the end, Elena and I were in the same boat. We both fell for the bad guy. For the first time, I admitted it to myself. Seeing Elena shamelessly fall for the guy who made so many mistakes and screwed everything up made me realise that people can be forgiven. Maybe Klaus was redeemable. I knew I could never forgive him for taking Jenna from me, but I could look past it, like Elena did with Damon.

I just hoped he didn't do anything stupid to ruin it.

Anyway, it was just a phase. A silly, teenager-y phase. I'd get over it in another couple of months.

Caroline groaned. "I screwed up, didn't I?" she asked. I didn't answer and her neither did Bonnie, both of us not wanting to lie. "God! Why do I always have to say the wrong thing?"

"Come on," Bonnie said, standing up. "We should go talk to her."

Caroline stood up. I stayed sitting down, lost in my thoughts. Was I a bad person, for falling for Klaus? Was I foolish? I had never felt the way he made me feel. He gave me a sense of danger and security while making my heart beat faster everytime I saw him. I dismissed it as being scared, which wasn't easy for me to do due to my annoying pride.

"Lucy?" Bonnie asked. "You coming."

I snapped out of my trance. "What?" I said. I shook my head. "Oh, yeah, I'm coming."

* * *

Elena was cleaning up the mess we had made.

"Elena, come on," Bonnie said, begging.

"Party is over. You guys need to leave," my twin demanded.

"You're being silly, Elena," I said. "We're looking out for you. We care about you, okay? But if you want to be with Damon, then fine. I'm not gonna stop you."

She turned around around, shocked. "Seriously?" she said, not believing me. I sighed and nodded. I wasn't going to be hypocritical. Elena smiled. "Thanks, Lucy."

Caroline scoffed. "Well then I'm gonna stop you, by myself." she said. "You can't make this mistake. I'm not gonna let you."

"Do you think it makes me happy that you hate him?" Elena asked, seething. "I get it. His track record has been kind of spotty but I don't hate him. I can't. He's - I think I'm falling in love with him."

I wasn't expecting that. To be honest, I thought this was all a phase too, like with me and Klaus.

Then I remembered the sire bond. She wasn't actually in love with him. I completely forgot about the sire bond. Shit! None of this was real for her. I let my stupid feelings for Klaus get in the way of my better judgement. I wanted someone else to share the situation I was in with Klaus. I wish I could blame my feelings on a sire bond.

Caroline voiced my thoughts. "Ugh, you're not falling in love with him, Elena. You're sired to him."

"Caroline!" I scolded.

_Great, just great. Well done, Caroline! _

At least she had the decency to look ashamed.

"What?" Bonnie said, shocked.

"What are you two on about?" Elena inquired.

I looked from Elena to Caroline, who wasn't budging or saying anything. I sighed and walked down the rest of the steps.

"We were going to tell you," I began. "In a much better way, believe me." I shot Caroline a glare. "But its true. Damon's blood turned you. And you've been so obedient towards Damon lately... we knew something was up. You couldn't feed from animals and blood-bags because he told you so. Then you tried again upon his suggestion and boom - you could."

Elena shook her head slightly. "No. There's no way, I..."

"Are you sure?" Bonnie asked me.

I nodded. "Stefan and I figured it out. He's better at explaining it."

I knew I said the wrong thing when I saw Elena's angry face, her gaze diverted from me to Caroline and back. "I'm sorry, you talked to Stefan about this?"

"It's not your fault, Elena," Caroline said, descending the stairs. "Okay, Damon took advantage of you."

"Ok, you need to leave," Elena demanded. Nobody moved. "Now!"

She stomped past us to the front door.

"Elena!" Bonnie reprimanded.

"You're being irrational," I stated. "Let's talk about-"

"I said leave."

She opened the front door. I saw two strangers, one boy and one girl, standing out on the porch.

"Hello girls," the girl said.

The girl rushed into the room, knocking Elena against the wall. She rushed at me, grabbing me by the throat and pressing me against the wall. The boy vampire-sped in, snapped Caroline's neck and grabbed my sister, who fought back, but the guy won.

Bonnie was about to perform a spell before the girl choking me said, "Stop!"

Bonnie stopped the spell. "As soon as I snap the fragile human's little neck, she's dead."

The boy threw Elena to the floor. The girl released me and I fell down to the ground, gasping for air. I wanted to prove to the bitch that I wasn't a 'fragile human,' I just didn't respond well when I was panicking and being deprived of air.

I noticed Caroline's body was gone.

"Caroline?" Elena called.

There was no answer.

* * *

We called Tyler after Elena recognised them as Klaus' hybrids. I thought they looked familiar.

I heard Caroline scream, Tyler had led us to the right place - a barn.

We rushed inside. "Stop! Stop it, Kim. Caroline's with us. Alright? We're all on the same team," Tyler tried to get the insane hybrid to cooperate.

"She's on your team, not mine," the hybrid - Kim - said.

The other hybrids entered the barn. I felt one of them grab me. I struggled, but hybrids were even stronger than regular vampires.

The hybrid bitch continued to torture Caroline, who screamed her head off.

"Stop it! Stop!" Tyler yelled.

Kim stop up and wiped her hands, as if wiping some dust off. "Fine," she eyed me. "I've found something better to torture anyway."

I scoffed. "Are you going to torture me?"

She smirked. "I'm going to do worse."

She picked up a stake and showed it to the other hybrids. She stared at me, the smirk still etched on her face.

"Don't do this," Elena begged. "Please. She's done nothing to you."

"No," Kim replied. "But Klaus has. And she's gonna pay for it."

She stabbed my in the shoulder with the stake and I screamed.

"Lucy!" Elena yelled.

The wound wasn't enough to kill me, which the hybrid had no intentions of doing yet. She was going to make me suffer. Like Klaus had done with her.

Guilt washed over me. Klaus had taken away their free will and they were bound to follow and obey him. I couldn't imagine what that would be like.

"Ease up, Kim. Klaus won't like this," the guy who had snapped Caroline's neck said.

"That's a very good point," she said. "Do you think he'll like it when I kill her?"

Elena struggled in the hold of her hybrid. "No! Don't! Please. She doesn't even like Klaus! She hates him!"

Despite everything that had happened tonight, Elena was still loyal to Caroline and I.

Kim lowered the stake towards my heart. She laughed. "I could just snap your neck," she taunted. "But I like the thought of Klaus seeing your body with a stake through your heart."

"Go ahead," I spat. "Do it."

"Lucy!" Elena warned. "She'll do it!"

"Let her."

Kim pressed the tip of the stake against my heart. I wasn't ready to die, but I was too proud to be a coward in my last moments.

But they wouldn't be. I was too stubborn to die.

The hybrid cried out in pain and backed away from me. "Kim!" the boy yelled.

She glared at me and bent over in agony, still screaming. "Witch!" she screamed. "Somebody kill her!"

Tyler freed himself from the hybrids holding him. He grabbed Kim's shoulders and pulled her up. I stopped the migraine since Tyler had taken over teaching the hybrid a lesson.

"Nobody touches the witch!" he shouted.

I could have hugged Tyler if he wasn't so preoccupied at the moment. He stuck his hand in Kim's chest, causing Kim to gasp. The other hybrids edged towards her. I fell to the ground. I wasn't aware that I was so weak.

Elena rushed towards me, bit her wrist and fed me her blood.

"Stay back or I'll rip her heart out right now!" Tyler warned.

They stopped in their tracks. Tyler looked at Kim.

"Kim put you all at risk today but I'm not gonna hurt her," Tyler said. "I'm not Klaus. I don't kill and torture my own friends to get what I want. Now, we broke the sire bond, but if you want to be free we have to work together. No one can step out of line. Now, you're either with me or you're against me. Submit. Submit or you die."

Kim fell down on her knees and Tyler knelt with her, his hand still clutching her heart.

"I'm... I'm sorry."

Tyler removed his hand from her chest and stood up as Kim tried to catch her breath. The other hybrids got down on their knees. This was weird. It was like Tyler was the king or something. Or the Alpha.

* * *

I lay down on the couch in Caroline's house, watching _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban _for the one-hundredth time. When it finished, Caroline picked up the remote and turned it off.

She groaned. "What a day," she said. "First, we have Elena-Damon drama, then hybrid drama. I am so tired."

"Can I crash here tonight?" I asked her.

"Sure," she answered tiredly.

"Thanks."

She sat up from her previous lying-position on the couch. We liked to share the couch. My head would rest on one arm rest and hers on another.

"Lucy, can I ask you something?" she said suddenly.

I straightened up like she did. "What?"

"How do you feel about Klaus?" she asked. I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, come on! Enough of the lies or the sudden change of subject. How do you feel about him?"

I struggled to come up with an answer. I'd sooner take an evening with Damon than this.

"Lucy..." she pressed.

"Fine!" I gave up. Maybe it would be good if I told someone. "I feel something for him, but I know that I can't act on it. He's done too many bad things to ever be forgiven."

She looked delighted, smiling victoriously, which was strange, I thought she'd be more furious.

"Oooh!" she exclaimed. "This is so romantic! It's a forbidden romance!"

I laughed. "This isn't funny, Caroline!" I insisted. "I shouldn't feel like this... not after everything he's done."

"It's not like he's bad-looking..." she said. I scowled at her. "Fine, sorry. But he totally is good-looking." I giggled despite myself. "And you're young and reckless. We all fall for the wrong guy. You'll get over it."

I nodded. "Yeah. I will."

The door opened and Stefan walked in, looking kinda hurt.

"What did my sister do now?" I asked. I had to ask that a lot lately. Between being a self-martyr and breaking Salvatore hearts, she was a handful.

His expression changed from hurt, brooding and sad to puzzled and amused. "What?" he replied.

"Nevermind," I shook my head.

Stefan chuckled before telling us about his day in New Orleans and about 'Charlotte', another girl who was sire bonded to Damon.

"You feel sorry for him?" Caroline asked after he told her Damon had to let Elena go.

"Look, there's no other way to break a vampire sire bond," Stefan told her. "As much as you and I both hate it, Damon does love Elena. Now he has to completely let her go. Ever imagine having to do that?"

"I'm sorry I told her. Okay, I kind of didn't have a choice. All I know is he better do what he's supposed to do," Caroline said.

Stefan sat down. "He'll do it. He's not as bad as he wants you to think. He'll do what he needs to do, he told me he would."

"And he didn't tell you anything else?" I asked, remembering the bathtub situation.

"What do you mean?" Stefan replied, clueless. _Of course_.

"Nothing," I said, shaking my head. "How can you trust him? After everything?"

"Because I think he loves her as much as I do," Stefan said. "He can't be selfish with her. Not anymore."

I nodded. I didn't doubt that Damon loved Elena, even though he wasn't good for her.

"I'm gonna go to bed," I said, standing up. "Coming, Care?"

She nodded and we went to her bedroom and got changed, not uttering a word.

"Stefan's gonna get hurt, isn't he?" Caroline asked once we got into her bed. I didn't really like sleeping in the same bed as Caroline, or anyone, really, but I was still a little scared after the day's events, even though I would never admit it. "When he finds out."

"Mhmm."

* * *

**A/N: What do you think? Good? Bad?**

**So Lucy finally accepted her feelings. Do you think I should make up another storyline about the Petrova witches and explain why Lucy's a witch and Elena isn't? I have an idea but I'm wondering would anyone be interested. Any suggestions? And any pairings you'd like to see?**


	9. Alone Again

_Alone Again_

"You called?" I asked as I entered the house.

"Klaus has the sword," he said. "And Caroline said that Tyler and the hybrids are planning to take him down tonight. So we need to get that sword before they dessicate him and we're left with nothing."

There was a part of me that wanted him gone, so that he couldn't hurt anyone else. But there was also this part of me that didn't want him gone.

"So what are we gonna do?" I said, crossing my arms.

"I'm gonna break in and look for it," he answered. "But we need a distraction..." he looked at me pleadingly. I was about to yell at him before he started speaking again. "Look, I know you hate doing this, and I wouldn't ask you unless it was really important. And this is important. Please, Lucy, for Elena."

I stared at him, trying to think of a different way to distract him. I came up with nothing and groaned. "Fine," I said, sighing. "I'll be Klaus-bait, yet again. Don't take long."

He smiled. "I won't."

* * *

I put on a dress and went to the Grill. Stefan told me that Klaus was selling paintings for charity now, surpising, considering he was one of the evilest people I had met.

I examined one of the paintings there and noticed it was Klaus'. It was a snowflake, a lonely snowflake. Maybe painting was a healthy way for him to vent his feelings instead of going on a killing spree, which was good, of course. I liked the painting.

I felt Klaus' eyes on me, but my eyes were still fixed on his painting.

"Painting snowflakes now, are we?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Is my work really that literal?"

"Not really," I said, finally turning to face him. "It looks lonely."

"I'll take that as a compliment as a compliment," he replied. "Can I offer you some champagne?"

I looked around. "Too many adults here. Thanks, though, but unfortunately, I'm underaged and in high school. Better keep the drinking secret."

"Well, then it's a good thing the high school part is nearly over," he responded.

Only a little while ago, he offered to show me the world. I didn't take the offer, but I knew it was still standing. I wouldn't take it, though. I could never leave Mystic Falls, especially when my sister was a vampire and my brother a hunter.

I didn't realise I was staring until the clinking of glasses made me aware of where I was.

"Screw it, I'll need some champagne to get through tonight anyway."

He smiled. "Right away, love."

He walked away to get the champage. When he was far enough away and couldn't see me, I groaned, took out my phone and texted Stefan.

_He's here. Go._

* * *

"Aren't you supposed to be distracting Klaus?" Caroline whispered when I went over to her.

"He can hear you, you know," I hissed, glancing over at him. He was talking to Carol Lockwood by the painting. "And he's already preoccupied with Mrs. Lockwood anyway."

She nodded while she read a text from a phone.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Stefan," she responded. "He says to meet him on the alleyway. Come on."

She led me out of the bar and into the alleyway beside the Grill.

Stefan was leaning against the wall. He straighted up as we approached him.

"Hey," Caroline greeted.

"Hey."

"Did you find the sword?" I asked.

"Nope," he said, disappointed.

I groaned. "So I had to be a manipulative bitch for nothing?" I said angrily. He looked at me apologetically. "Great. So what are we gonna do now?"

"Klaus is the only shot we have at finding the cure. We need him. Tyler has to call it off."

"Well that's not gonna happen."

I saw Tyler behind Stefan, looking mad.

"You told them?" Tyler asked Caroline, walking down the steps. "I've had twelve hybrids sworn to secrecy for a month. I have Hayley and a witch risking their lives and you're blabbing my plan to him?"

Stefan squared up to him, almost threateningly. "Look, all I'm asking you for is a little bit of time, okay?"

"How long? An hour? A day? Because every minute that goes by that we don't do this, they're at risk. You and Klaus already served one of them up for Jeremy to kill." He glared at me. _So he knew_. He knew that I had convinced Klaus to give up one of his hybrids for Jeremy to kill, one of Tyler's friends. I looked down in shame. "I don't owe you anything."

He turned around and walked away. "I'm taking him out."

Stefan super-sped in front of Tyler, frightening the hybrid. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that."

"Stefan," Caroline warned.

He looked over Tyler's shoulder at Caroline. "I'm sorry but I can't."

"Stefan."

That time, she was trying to tell him about the hybrids behind him. I turned around to see another six hybrids behind us, blocking any means of escape.

"Sorry man, but you don't have a choice."

* * *

The hybrids had taken us to the Lockwood cellar. Tyler was afraid we'd sabotage his plan to kill Klaus. He was so afraid he even went so far to lock his own girlfriend up, because that's so normal.

Tyler was obsessed with killing Klaus, like the rest of the hybrids were. I suppose if someone had taken my free-will away, I would be too. But taking your girlfriend and her best friends (one of whom was your ex-girlfriend) and locking them in a cellar, that was just low.

"Ugh, this is ridiculous. We are not hostages!" Caroline exclaimed.

"Sure you are, sweetie," Kim responded. She twirled the knife in her fingers and diverted her gaze towards me. "And we're going to have some fun."

Caroline glared at her and super-sped in front of her. They stared each other down. Their little staring competion only ended when Stefan's phone rang and the other hybrids edged towards him.

"Relax," Stefan said and the hybrids stopped. "It's my brother."

He answered the phone. "What's up... You're kidding." Stefan hung up and looked at Caroline and me. "We don't need the sword."

* * *

After the hybrids realised their stupidity and let us go, I went to the Town Square for the last few hours of the Winter Wonderland charity event. I saw Klaus talking to Stefan before storming away angrily.

"What was that about?" I asked him, worried.

Stefan was brooding, which I had learnt was never a good sign. "He said that we weren't that different," he told me, staring after Klaus. "That we were both alone."

"You're not alone, Stefan," I replied, rubbing his arm. "Not at all. You have me and Caroline. Just because you and Elena broke up doesn't mean you're alone."

He smiled at me. "I know," he looked over at Tyler, who was talking with Hayley. "She was talking to Klaus."

I remembered her, she was the one helping to unsire the hybrids and the one who got the witch. "Shouldn't she be at the sacrifice?" I asked. Tyler dashed away from Hayley. I got a bad feeling in my chest. "Oh no."

I ran after Tyler. Maybe it was my psychic sense, or the fact that Tyler had ran away from her, but I knew that something was wrong.

"Tyler! Tyler!" I called after him.

He stopped and whipped around. "Lucy! Klaus... he's - he knows!" he panted. "Hayley lied. This was all a set-up for some sacrifice. There was no witch. She betrayed us. And now Klaus is going to kill them all."

I didn't like Hayley that much before, but now, I despised her intensely. "And you, if you show up. Tyler, go, run as fast as you can and get the hell away from here. If Klaus sees you, you're screwed."

"Lucy-"

"No, Tyler," I shook my head. "Go. They're probably already dead and there would be nothing you could to save them."

He was stubborn, but finally relented and nodded. "Go, quick. He might listen to you."

"Hopefully he hasn't done anything yet," I said.

He looked at me one last time before super-speeding away. I sprinted into the forest as fast as I could.

There were twelve hybrids. If he had killed twelve hybrids... then he was really a monster.

There were eleven dead bodies on the ground by the Lockwood cellar. I looked around me in shock and fear. Most of them were beheaded or heartless.

I heard someone scream. It was a familiar scream, like one I had caused only a day ago. I rushed down the stairs to the Lockwood cellar.

Kim, the hybrid who had wanted to torture me and kill me to get to Klaus, was pressed against the cellar as Klaus cornered her.

"Where is Tyler Lockwood?" he questioned her, threatened her with a sword.

The hybrid sobbed, but didn't answer. Klaus pointed the sword at her throat.

"Where is he?!" he yelled.

"Klaus," I said.

He turned his head slightly to look at me. I tried to straighten my face.

"Maybe you know where Tyler is?" he inquired.

"He's gone," I responded. "He ran away." I looked at the hybrid who would have paid to see me dead. "Don't kill her, Klaus. If you do you fall straight into the werewolf's trap."

He scoffed. "You've come to beg for her life," he said. He pressed the blade further into her throat, drawing blood. "Or you've come to 'save me from myself'. Which is it, love?"

"Don't do this," I begged. "Prove that you're not the monster everyone thinks you are." I saw his eyes well up. There was one other time when I saw him cry, when Mikael taunted him at homecoming.

"And why should I care what people think of me?" he asked.

"Because you do," I said, looking at the scared hybrid and back to Klaus. "You put up this mask and you try to convince everyone that you're tough and ruthless and cruel. But everything you do, everything bad you've done is caused by your fear of being alone. So, go ahead, kill her, but if you do, you prove to me and the rest of the world that you're a monster beyond redemption, and you'll be left alone forever."

He glared at me. For a moment I thought I saw a hint of guilt in his eyes. He pulled the sword away from Kim's neck. I exhaled in relief, as did the hybrid.

But just as I thought he wouldn't kill her, he pressed the blade against Kim's neck and pushed, decapitating her. I looked away, tears threatening to fall, but I wouldn't cry. Not in front of him. He lured me into believing there was a small sense of hope that he wasn't who everyone thought he was, and then he took that sensation away from me.

When I opened my eyes, I saw he was only inches away from my face. He was covered in blood and the scent repulsed me. I looked away from him.

"I don't care what anyone thinks about me," he said, but he sounded as if he didn't believe his own words. "Not even you."

I glared at him. "You're a monster."

I stormed out of the cellar and into the woods. How could I have been so _stupid_? So naive? The bodies that surrounded me, their downfall was all Klaus' doing. He ruined so many lives and I fell for someone like that. I fell for a monster.

* * *

I called Caroline after I left the woods. She said she was at the boarding house with Stefan. I needed to tell them that Klaus wasn't really dead, that he could strike at any moment.

Caroline and Stefan sat in the parlor talking about Klaus.

"And I'm sitting here, trying to figure out what makes us any better than him," Stefan said. "And I think it's just that, we have family we can trust."

"No," I said and they both turned to look at me. "You're better than him because you didn't just slaughter twelve of your own kind."

Caroline's eyes widened. "Tyler, is he-"

"No, Tyler's fine," I said weakly, remembering the night's events all over again.

"Lucy, are you okay?" Stefan asked, alarmed.

I smiled meakly. "Yeah, I'm fine," I nodded.

"That's why Tyler hasn't been picking up his cell," Caroline muttered. "God! How did he find out?"

"It was a trap," I told her. "The werewolf girl - Hayley - she set it up. There needed to be twelve people for some sacrifice." I thought about it for a bit. She couldn't draw power from the dead without a witch. "I think she was working with someone. Someone who wanted to gain the power of twelve dead hybrids."

"But who?" Stefan asked.

I sat down on the couch and held my face in my hands. "I don't know."

"You don't look well," Caroline noted.

"Yeah, well, I did just see a hybrid being slaughtered," I told her, looking up. She looked sympathetic. "I was there when he killed Kim. Believe me, I don't like her at all, but this person can draw power from the sacrifice and become a huge threat. Who knows what could happen."

I kind of lied about my reasons. I had two; the one I had just mentioned and proving to myself that Klaus wasn't as bad as I thought he was.

"Have you heard from Damon?" Caroline asked Stefan, thankfully changing the subject.

"Yeah, he's still with Jeremy at the lake house," Stefan answered.

"Did he happen to mention where Elena was?" she questioned, avoiding his gaze until the end of the question. Stefan looked at her with a questioning gaze.

Stefan edged closer to her. "Wait, why are you – why are you asking me this?"

"Caroline," I warned.

Caroline gave him a meaningful look. She wanted him to guess it himself so that she wouldn't have to lie to him anymore.

Stefan sat on the couch. "They're together, aren't they?" he said, upset. Caroline looked guilty, and I did too. "How together are they?" Caroline looked away from him and I fixed my eyes firmly on the ground. "Lucy... tell me. How together are they?"

I bit my lip nervously. A look of realisation crossed his handsome face. _Wait, handsome? You've just seen a hybrid being slaughtered and you're thinking of how handsome Stefan is?_

Stefan stood up and stepped back, hurt and shocked. One of the chess pieces was knocked over. In a fit of rage, Stefan threw the chess board off the table and it flew across the room. He then threw the table the board had been sitting on across the room as well. I tried not to be upset, like Caroline was. She was beginning to cry. I had every reason to cry tonight, but I was trying my hardest to keep it inside.

Stefan inhaled deeply, looking blankly at nothing at all. I stood up and wrapped my arms around him. I was almost going to pick his arms up and wrap them around my torso until he did it himself.

I broke away from him slightly. "If it makes you feel better, you're my favourite Salvatore," I smiled.

He let out a small laugh, but the hurt and rage was still etched on his face. I tightened the hug yet again.

That's something Elena and I had in common. We fell for the wrong guy when the right guy was in front of us.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was difficult to write. I was trying to capture so many relationships in it, like Klaus and Lucy, Stefan and Lucy, Tyler and Lucy and Caroline and Lucy. Sorry if it was short.**

**Again, I'm not anti-Damon or anti-Delena. **

**What do you think of Lucy? I'm trying my best to make her realistic, with flaws and some good traits. Any characters that you think are OOC?**

**Please review!**


	10. Human

**Some sexual content (not in explicit detail)**

* * *

_Human_

_I was pressed up against a wall while Tyler kissed me. He broke the kiss and took off his shirt as I took off mine. My heart beat quickened. I had heard stories from Caroline and Elena about their first times, how it was painful but enjoyable after a while. I was going to do this. I didn't love Tyler, I wasn't sure love was real, but there was something there._

_He led me to the bed and took off my trousers and slipped off his. I groaned as he left a trail of kisses down my neck and my stomach._

_The memory of my first time disorted into the memory of the night my parent's died._

_"No, no, no!" I yelled to the cop in front of me, tears in my eyes "They can't be dead. You're lying!"_

_"I am sorry, Miss Gilbert," the cop said. "You're parents were good people."_

_I took note of his use of the word 'were' instead of 'are'. "You're lying! You have to be lying. Jeremy, this can't be true. Tell him it isn't true!"_

_I turned to Jeremy who was standing beside me, looking saddened and hurt. Then I realised my parents were really gone._

_"They're dead. They're really dead."_

_The scene changed yet again to the Mikaelson ball. I was outside, admiring a horse when Klaus came out._

_"You like horses?" he asked me._

_"I thought you knew everything about me?" I countered. He smiled. I continued to admire the horse, my thoughts were racing. I got why Elena was invited, Esther needed her. But me? I was practically useless. And Klaus was the one who sent the letter. "Why did you invite me here?" I gave up trying to think of it by myself._

_"I fancy you," I rolled my eyes. "Is that so hard to believe?"_

_"Actually, yes, it kinda is," I replied. _

_"Why? You're beautiful, you're powerful, kind. Loyal. I enjoy you."_

_I scoffed. "You've only talked to me once. When you terrorised my friends and turned Tyler into a slave-minion hybrid."_

_"And that exact conversation is what drew me to you," he said. "You were furious with me. Despite not being able to fight me and win, you still stood up for your friends and what you believed in. And I both respect and admire that." His gaze moved from me to the horse. "You know, horses are the opposite of people. They're loyal. My father hunted me for a thousand years and the closest he ever came was the day he killed my favorite horse. He severed its neck with a sword as a warning."_

_"He sounds like a lovely guy," I said sarcastically and he laughed. "Did you ever think of talking things out with your father?"_

_"Well, I'm afraid my relationship with my father was a little bit more complex than yours."_

_I smiled. "My relationship with my 'adoptive' father wasn't complex at all," I said thoughtfully. "I can't say the same with my biological father."_

_"Ah, John Gilbert," he said. "I've heard of him."_

_"You're the reason he's dead," I seethed. "You and your curse."_

_His expression darkened. "And I thought we were getting along," he said, looking disappointed. _

_I stared at him in disbelief. "You threatened to rip out my tongue and kill me," I reminded him, cocking up an eyebrow. "You killed Aunt Jenna and by extention, John, and you expect me to 'get along' with you?" I scoffed. "Oh please."_

_I walked away from him in a huff. He was playing me, he wanted something from me. I knew it._

_Before I got too far, I whipped around. "And by the way, to answer your earlier question, yes, I do like horses."_

I woke up with beads of sweat on my forehead. My dreams felt so real. Was I going crazy? It was all so vivid. I put it down to me being a witch, but I decided to ask Bonnie if she had the same dreams.

I was practicing magic more regularly now, so I could protect myself. Physically, I was stronger than most girls due to sports and Elena's and my training with Alaric. Ric was good man, he cared about us, but Esther turned him into a hunter-original vampire.

I was emotionally and physically drained. All that I wanted to do was crawl underneath my covers and die, but today was Carol Lockwood's memorial. She had drowned in the fountain in the Town's Square. It was painted as an accident, but it wasn't. It was murder and we knew the culprit.

I never liked being weak or defenseless, or not having the power to stop someone from doing something bad. That night, all of that happened.

After I got dressed, I rushed downstairs and saw Elena making coffee.

"Can I have some?" I asked.

"Sure," she smiled, but it soon faltered. "Hey, how are you? Caroline told me you were there-"

"When Klaus beheaded Kim?" I asked and she nodded. "Yeah, I was there." I looked down at the ground. "But I'm fine. I'm always fine," I said snappishly.

"But I thought you liked-"

I interrupted her for the second time. "No, I don't," she gave me a sceptical look. "He's a monster."

She raised an eyebrow, but nodded anyway. Elena poured out two coffees, one for herself and one for me.

She gave my the coffee and explained about Silas and the cure for immortality. This Professor Shane knew where it was, which meant that we didn't need the sword. I didn't tell her that Stefan knew about her and Damon.

"I can be cured of this," she said. "I won't be a vampire."

"That's good," I responded somewhat distracted. The bodies of the dead hybrids still plagued my mind. If I had gotten there sooner, then maybe all those hybrids wouldn't have died. Although, Klaus killed Kim despite my pleads... No, this wasn't my fault. But why did it feel like it was?

Elena looked worried. "Are you sure you're okay?"

I snapped out of my daze and smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Exceptional." I stood up. "Come on, we have a mandatory memorial to go to."

* * *

The sheriff stood at the podium. "Carol Lockwood always said that togetherness in times of tragedy leads to healing, that one community is stronger than a thousand of its members. But how does a community stay strong after losing its leader? And Carol was so much more than a leader; she was an open-minded friend and a concerned mother, taken from us too soon by a terrible accident."

I scoffed. _Accident my ass_. Klaus drowned her and killed her for being Tyler's mother. And Tyler did nothing but free the hybrids.

"Screw this," Tyler stood up.

"What? Tyler? Tyler?"

Tyler left the gym. Sheriff Forbes watched him as he left but continued with her speech.

"Please join me in observing a minute silence in her memory."

We put our head heads down in a moment of silence. Elena nudged me and tilted her head over to the other side of the room, gesturing me to look over there. I saw nothing but high schoolers.

"What?" I whispered.

"Rebekah," she mouthed.

My eyes widened. I was there when she was daggered! What if she blamed me?

"Are you two okay?" Bonnie asked us.

"Come on," Elena said to me, standing up. "Be right back."

Elena and I walked out of the gym and into the hall. "Rebekah's back," she said. "I saw her."

"She can't be," I said. "Who would have undaggered her?"

Elena shrugged but stopped suddenly. "Shh... someone's here."

I followed her as she turned around the corner. April Young was the girl she heard crying thanks to her superb vampire hearing.

"April, what's wrong?" Elena asked.

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"But you're crying?" she pressed. Well done Captain Obvious.

"It's just the whole mayor thing, you know. It's bringing stuff up about my dad." Elena nodded. I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. "And I know you're a vampire."

My suspicions were proved.

Elena gaped. "Wait, what?"

Elena suddenly fell limply to the ground. I shrieked and turned to find an Original Vampire, one I would rather see daggered in a box; Rebekah, or as Damon called her, Barbie Klaus.

"Was that necessary?" April asked, flinching.

Rebekah smiled. "No, but it was fun."

I looked at her oddly. "Are you a psychopath or something?"

"Maybe," she shrugged. "Something like that." I glanced down at Elena. "She's not dead, I just snapped her neck. She'll be_ fine_."

I rolled my eyes. "And what are going to do with me?"

"I've always kind of liked you," she said and I scoffed. "You'll go with April to the library and help her with your sister's body and I won't kill you. Try to leave, and I will."

"Gee, thanks."

* * *

I sat on the floor next to my unconscious sister. I didn't see the point in running, Rebekah would just find me anyway with her super-vampire abilities.

April Young was Rebekah's new bestie, apparently, but to me it seemed that our betrayal and all the lies we told her had made her bitter and angry towards us. I couldn't blame her. I was angry when Elena had lied to me.

I heard Elena stir beside me. She looked around her and finally at me. "What are we doing here?"

"Rebekah," I said.

She groaned and stood up. Just then, April walked in.

"The assembly is over," she said.

"Why does Rebekah want us?" I asked her.

She ignored me. "The school will be empty soon... How many times did you compel me? Don't... don't lie. Rebekah says you lie."

"Rebekah isn't who you think she is, April," Elena responded.

"What? She's not a thousand-year-old Original vampire?" April said. Clearly Rebekah had caught her up on her history.

"Did Rebekah tell you I'm a witch?" I said. She looked surprised. "No? We are going to leave and you are not going to stop us."

"Stop threatening her, it's April, remember?" Elena said. "We have to get out of here."

Elena pulled April along with us. I saw Rebekah standing by the door.

"Sorry, not allowed," she said. She approached Elena and could tell she was about to compel her. "Why don't you take a seat? The rest of the class will be here shortly."

Elena obeyed, not like she had a choice. Rebekah turned to me.

"You can't compel me," I said proudly, smirking. "I'm a witch, remember?"

"Ah, yes," Rebekah replied, nodding. "But I have other means of getting people to do what I want. Perhaps I should compel your dear sister to stab herself in the stomach repeatedly until you sit your arse down."

I glared at her. "Fine," I said begrudgingly.

* * *

About an hour later, Rebekah had 'kidnapped' Caroline and brought her into the library, compelling her to stay put. Just now, she sauntered into the room, pulling Stefan with her.

"Stefan..." Elena stood up.

"Did I say you could move?" And she sat back down.

"Class is in session," Rebekah said. "You've all been compelled; you know the rules. Except for you, witchie, but you'll obey or suffer the consequences. Answer my questions honestly, no disobedience, no one leaves. April, my sweet, take notes. This is how you get answers in this town. Let's start with a little quiz. In the year 1114, my brother learnt, thanks to yours truly, about a brotherhood of vampire hunters with tattoos that grew with each kill. These tattoos revealed what, Elena?"

"A map," she answered.

"Which led to... Caroline?" she asked.

"A cure for vampirism."

"Perfect, so we're all caught up. Stefan Salvatore and Lucinda Gilbert, the last time we saw each other, you two had a vampire hunter, but in order to decode the map, you needed the location of the hunter's sword, which Stefan got out of me using some very dirty tricks. Assuming you found the sword, you also found the cure, and yet, you're all still vampires, which means something went wrong."

Rebekah glanced over to April, who was scribbling down notes on a piece of paper. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, you asked me to take notes."

I coughed in an attempt to hide my laughter.

Rebekah shot me a glare. "I wasn't being literal, darling. But now that you mention it... a flow chart would be nice, which means index cards and push-pins. Go fetch."

April left.

"You're wasting your time. We don't know anything," Stefan said.

"So, you just gave up? I thought you would do anything to save Elena? Even if it meant taking the cure yourself, so you could grow old and die with her?"

Of course he would do that for Elena. Everyone would do anything for my _perfect _sister.

Elena was wide-eyed, probably due to the fact that they broke up. "Why do you look so surprised?" No one answered. "I'm missing something. What is it?"

"Why are you so nosy?" I asked. "Oh wait, I forgot, you don't have a life."

"What's gotten you in such a bad mood, witchie?" she said, amused. "Have you not been treated well in my absense?" I rolled my eyes. "Now, how about you update me on the latest gossip."

I sighed. "Stefan and Elena broke up."

Rebekah smiled. "Now let us go," Caroline tried.

The Original vampire continued to push us to our breaking point. She looked delighted at the news. "Broke up? Wait, I'm confused. I thought Elena was your epic love, Stefan?" Rebekah sat down in April's chair and, for some reason, Elena scoffed. "I asked you what happened. You have to tell me."

"She slept with Damon," Stefan answered.

Elena's gaze shot up to meet Stefan's, surprised that she knew. She then shot me a betrayed look.

I held my hands up in defense. "I didn't tell him," I said. "Blondie over here can't keep a secret."

Caroline scoffed. "What's wrong with you today?"

I shrugged. "I feel fine."

"You're acting like a b-"

"Yes, yes, poor Lucinda here is on her monthly, get over it," Rebekah said. "Anyway, let's move on to the other Gilbert girl." Elena glared at her. "So, vampire Elena is a trollop who likes bad boys, which explains why Stefan reeks of alcohol. But what it doesn't explain is why sweet, loving, innocent Elena could be so heartless towards Stefan."

I almost sighed in relief once the attention was taken off me.

"How could she hurt you like that? Answer, please," Rebekah demanded.

"She didn't know it at the time, but she was sired to Damon," Stefan answered.

"A sire bond. That's fascinating. And what do you think about that, Elena?"

"I think you're sad and bored and in desperate need of a hobby," Elena snapped back.

"Amen to that," I added.

"You're hiding something. Fess up," Rebekah said, compelling Elena yet again.

"I didn't sleep with Damon because of the sire bond," Elena said. "I slept with Damon because I'm in love with him." Stefan was visibly hurt by this revelation. Even Elena looked shocked at what she said.

Rebekah was enjoying this a bit too much.

"This should be a soap opera," I said, breaking the silence. "'Elena Gilbert and the war for her golden vagina.'"

Rebekah laughed.

"Lucy!" Caroline scolded.

Elena looked just as hurt as Stefan now. I felt guilty and ashamed of what I said, but I was sick of this love triangle crap. She was ruining a perfectly fine relationship between two brothers because of her inability to stay single.

"Oh you are hilarious, Lucy," Rebekah said, wiping tears from her eyes.

"What does all this have to do with the stupid cure?" Caroline asked, changing the subject.

"You're right. We got off the point. Stefan, how do I find the cure? Unless, you'd rather talk about Lucy's sudden bitchiness or Damon and Elena all day."

"There's a professor," Stefan answered. "He knows where the cure is."

"Thank you. And, uh, where do I find this professor?"

* * *

A couple of glares from Caroline, Elena and even Stefan later, Rebekah was calling Tyler to lure him into the trap.

"I heard, and you're keeping all that rage bottled up inside. Caroline's worried sick about you... Hello, Tyler. I heard my brother made a real mess of your life. Believe me, I can relate. You have my condolences. In fact, why don't you come down to the high school so you can accept them in person? ... Because I have your girlfriend. Maybe you have a better shot saving her than you did your mother. Bye now."

Just as she hung up, the youngest male Original, Kol, peeped his head through the door, smirking. He looked like a younger Elijah, but acted more like Klaus or Rebekah.

"Sister... Look at this. You're even worse than Klaus," he said.

"Kol, finally. Did you bring what I asked for?" Rebekah demanded.

Kol shoved Shane into the library. "You must be Shane," she smiled.

Rebekah and Kol went with the creepy, all-knowing Professor somewhere to interogate him.

"Elena, I didn't mean-"

"No," Elena said, her eyes filled with tears. "I know what you meant."

"I shouldn't have said it like that, Elena, I'm sorry."

She glared at me. "Why is it that we all have to suffer when you're upset or angry? It's always like this. After Mom and Dad died, after Jenna died. You become so snappy and irritating instead of actually dealing with your feelings."

"At least I didn't mope around for months," I snapped. "Jeremy needed me, Jenna needed me. I may have been a bitch, but at least I got things done."

Elena scoffed. "Stop it you two!" Caroline exclaimed. "So what? You both have different coping mechanisms. And Lucy, what you said was just, plain cruel, but this whole thing with Elena and the Salvatore's has just gotten stupid."

"Is that what you think?" Elena asked. "What really is stupid is that Lucy was so affected by Klaus killing the hybrids that she had to go into complete bitch-mode."

She was calling me weak, basically. Anyone else would have been able to deal with it, but not me, because I'm so fragile.

"I get it," she said. "You got there too late, so you feel as if its your fault." I sat up in my seat and clenched my fist.

"Is that how you feel, Lucy?" Caroline asked. I didn't answer. "It wasn't your fault. It was all Klaus'."

I never thought that Rebekah Mikaelson would be my saviour, but when she walked into the library before Caroline could continue the interogation, I could have almost hugged her. _Almost_.

Caroline rested her head in her arms.

"Still glued to your seats?" Rebekah asked. "Ahh, it's thick with tension in here. Let's spice things up a bit. Elena, truth or dare?"

"We're done playing your stupid games, Rebekah," Stefan said.

"Truth or dare, Elena. You're compelled to answer," Rebekah reminded her.

"Dare," Elena spat.

"I dare you to tell Stefan the truth about Damon."

I was beginning to doubt that she had a life - at all - over the past thousand years.

Caroline shot up. "Seriously?"

"Being with Damon makes me happy," Elena answered.

"Makes you happy? Clowns make you happy, Elena. Dig a little deeper," Rebekah urged.

"When I'm with him... it feels unpredictable, like... like I'm free," she said.

"And how do you feel when you're with Stefan?" she asked.

"Seriously Rebekah, you're going to far," I said.

"Too bad, she's compelled," Rebekah said.

"Lately, I feel like I'm a project, like I'm a problem that needs to be fixed. I think I make him sad, and I can't be with someone like that, because when he looks at me, all he sees is a broken toy."

Rebekah looked so pleased with herself while Stefan looked absolutely crestfallen.

"Do you still love Stefan?"

"Yes."

"Are you still in love with Stefan?"

Elena looked like she was about to cry. "No."

It seemed like the Original Sister was about to jump up and down in joy. I wanted to slap her so bad.

She turned to Stefan. "Did that hurt? Having someone you love drive a dagger through your heart?"

"Go to hell," Stefan spat.

"Did. That. Hurt."

"Yes," Stefan finally answered.

"Welcome to the last nine-hundred years of my life."

Stefan looked at Rebekah, almost with pity.

Tyler Lockwood burst into the room, reading to play superman and save his girl from an Original he had no chance in defeating.

"Ah, good, you're here. It was just getting depressing."

"God forbid you weren't amused," I spat.

"What the hell is going on?" Tyler pressed.

Rebekah turned back to us. "Listen to the rules carefully. Stay in the building, no vamp-running in the hallways."

"Vamp-running from what?" Caroline asked.

"I'm not a vampire, remember?" I said.

"No," she responded, smiling. "But I'll let you stay just so they have a small sense of hope before this hybrid rips it from them along with their limbs." Rebekah compelled Tyler. "Turn."

"What?" Elena exclaimed.

"He can't, he'll lose control!" Caroline exclaimed.

"That's the whole point," Rebekah said. "I've exhausted all your knowledge. Now I have the professor to help me find the cure, you're just competition. Whoever finds it first, gets to decide what to do with it. Use it, share it, destroy it, save it. I want that to be me."

"But if I turn, I'll kill them," Tyler said.

Like she said, that's the point. Was I the only intelligent one there?

"Yes, you will. Turn."

* * *

Tyler slammed into a bookshelf, causing some books to fall.

"Agh! I can fight this!" Tyler declared.

He breathed heavily and fell to the floor.

"Greta Martin did a spell that slowed down Jules' transformation," Elena said, panting fearfully. "Maybe you can do the same."

Tyler crawled over to a table and pulled himself up. I heard his bones crack as they began to break.

I shook my head. "I don't know the spell," I said, observing him. "Even if I did, I'm not powerful enough to counter Rebekah's compulsion."

Tyler slammed his arms on the table, breaking the table in two pieces.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Tyler yelled.

"Go," Stefan said, pushing us to leave. "Go!"

We ran into the hallway. I followed Caroline as she ran through the halls. We stopped at the front door.

"I can't get out," Caroline said. "But you can."

"Caroline, I'm not going to leave you."

She smiled. "Go to the lake house and help Jeremy with his hunter duties. Get away from this for a while."

I nodded. "I'm sorry I was such a douche today," I said. "It's just been difficult."

"I know, but take a beat and go to the lake house and only come back when you're fully yourself again," she said.

I hugged her and ran out of the school. I looked behind me, only to see she had already gone.

* * *

It had been quite a while since I was back at the lake house. We spent our summers here as children, before our parents died.

The house hadn't changed a bit, but we had. Our parents were dead, Elena was a vampire, I was a witch and Jeremy was a hunter.

I sighed and got out of the car. I always loved it here. Dad taught me how to fish at the docks, not that I fished anymore. I never had enough patience.

"Lovely lake house you're family has," said a voice I so did not want to hear.

I whipped around to see Klaus. Last time I saw him, there was blood all over his face.

"I don't have time for this," I went to open the door, but Klaus' hand planted on my shoulder prevented me from doing so. "Get off me," I spat.

"Why so hostile, love?" he asked.

"You know the answer," I snarled. "Just leave me alone." His smirk fell but his hand didn't. "Please."

He let go of my shoulder and I exhaled in relief. "I never meant to hurt you," he said. "My hybrids-"

"-Were innocent people, but yet you slaughtered them. The only wrong they did was freeing themselves from you," I said. "And then you killed Carol Lockwood, who I've known my entire life, as if killing twelve hybrids wasn't enough. Nothing you say can make you seem any better, Klaus."

He mouth tightened and he stepped back. "Alright then, love!" he exclaimed angrily. "I get it, I'm an evil bastard! Guess that excuses my next wrong-doing."

As if on cue, I heard a scream from upstairs. "What did you do?"

"Nothing an evil bastard like me wouldn't," he said, holding his arms out non-chalantly and smirking.

I ran upstairs to the attic. A girl had a stake through her heart. Jeremy was observing the invisible mark as it grew on his arm. It wasn't to difficult to fathom what had happened. Klaus had turned the girl so Jeremy would kill her.

"How far is it?" I asked, breaking the silence.

Matt and Jeremy shot up, surprised that I was there. "Lucy," Matt started, "when did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago," I answered.

"Great, another Gilbert to deal with," I turned around to see Damon. "I'll get rid of the body. Then we'll go get something to eat."

He picked up the girl's limp body bridal style and carried her downstairs.

I got a text from Caroline. _Don't worry. We're all safe. _

"Why's Damon acting so nice all of a sudden?" Matt asked. "He's been a dick all day and now he wants to play nice. Somethings up."

I put my phone away. "Or maybe he wants to impress Elena," I suggested, smiling, but not believing my own words. There was something going on. "What better way than to smoothe over her baby brother."

Jeremy gave me a ghost of a smile. He was still recovering from having to kill the girl. I felt my blood boil with rage towards Klaus.

* * *

I never trusted Damon, so there was no way I was about to let him take my baby brother and my human best friend to a bar without my supervision.

We walked into a bar. There was music playing and I got an eerie feeling about the place. I was right because as we entered I saw dead bodies scattered all around the bar. Klaus sat at the bar, pouring himself a drink. Of course this was his doing.

"I was beginning to worry you boys wouldn't find the place," he said, not even looking at us. "And Lucy, what a pleasant surprise."

"What the hell...?" Jeremy exclaimed.

"Did you kill all these people?" Matt asked Klaus.

"Not exactly. They're in transition." He looked to Jeremy. "Killing them is your job."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "No. Jeremy's not going to kill all these people. They haven't done anything wrong."

Klaus diverted his gaze from me to Damon. "And why didn't you leave the over-bearing elder sister at home?" Klaus asked him.

"Believe me, I tried," he scoffed.

"You said you were going to convince Klaus to do this another way!" Jeremy said.

"Well, I thought about it, and then I realized his idea was better."

Klaus smiled. I stood in front of Jeremy protectively. The transitioning vampires began to stir.

Like pigs to the slaughter.

* * *

_**A/N: Any thoughts or comments? Please review.**_


	11. Back Home

_Back Home_

"No way," I said, glaring at Klaus. "He's not going to kill them."

"What makes you think he has a choice, love?" Klaus smirked.

"You have to kill vampires to complete the hunter's mark," Damon said. "Mark equals cure. You're in a bar full of almost vampires, so get your hunt on."

"Screw you," Jeremy spat. "You said I wouldn't have to kill any innocent people."

"Jeremy, they're not people," Damon told him, attempting to brainwash him.

"Enough! Have at it, or else," Klaus demanded.

"I don't take orders from you, dick." Jeremy dropped the stake. "Hunters can't be compelled."

Klaus laughed and walked threateningly towards Jeremy and I. "You're right. I can't compel you. But if your conscience is getting in the way, then allow me to make this easy for you. Because, I can compel them."

A few humans were being compelled to feed the vampires their blood.

"I'm gonna give you a two-minute head start. Then I'm gonna send every vampire in here after you. You kill them, or they kill your friend...Matt."

"You're insane," I spat.

"No, no. You turn them, he kills them. That was the deal, Klaus," Damon said.

"I'm taking artistic license," Klaus said.

"No, you're being a douche," I responded, seething. "Anyway, Jeremy's not strong enough to fight the bloodthirsty vampires all at once. Be realistic, Klaus."

"With Damon as his coach and with your magical assistance, he'll be fine," Klaus assured. "It's Matt I'm worried about."

"Ah...Jeremy, Lucy, go get the weapons out of the car. I'll be right behind you." Jeremy ran out of the bar. "All of you."

Matt and I ran after him.

"If I hear an engine start, I'll kill Matt myself!" Klaus called.

"Get to the lake house," I whispered and they nodded.

We continued to run into the woods. Matt, Jeremy and I all took different routes to the lake house.

I heard a growl behind me. I looked behind me. A hungry vampire was running after me. I gasped, but continued to run. The vampire, having just found out about his super-speed, appeared in front of me.

"I don't want to do this," I said, staring at the vein on my neck. "But I'm so hungry..."

I didn't want to hurt him. He was innocent.

His eyes widened and he fell to the floor all of a sudden, revealing Damon behind him.

"Where's hunter-Jeremy and the quarter back?" he asked.

"I don't know," I replied, staring at the dead vampire. I shook my head and looked up at Damon. "Come on, we have to find them." I began to run, but Damon held me back. "What the h- Damon!" the elder Salvatore had thrown me over his shoulder.

For the first time, I experienced super-speed.

"Yeah, I just need a second," I heard Matt say.

"We don't have a second," Jeremy replied. "They can smell your blood. We need to go."

"Let me down!" I yelled, slapping his back.

He still didn't let me down. I heard the sound of Jeremy's bow colliding with Damon's hand.

"Don't hesitate!" Damon scolded, finally letting me down. I went over to help Matt and muttered a healing spell. "You're lucky it was me. Otherwise you two'd be dead."

"Thanks for that," Matt said.

I nodded to him and helped him up.

"You set us up," Jeremy accused.

"I was trying to get this thing over with," Damon said. "You're the one that pissed off Klaus. Now you have to fight your way out of it."

"All right, where are the other vampires?" Matt asked.

"They're newbies," Damon answered. "They're still trying to figure out how to track, which means you have two seconds to get ready to fight."

Jeremy turned to Matt and I. "The lake house is this way. If we can get there, they won't be able to get inside."

"Wait, you want to run?" Damon asked.

"And he's right too," I said. "They want to kill Matt."

Damon hesitated. "Fine. Get out of here. I'll slow them down."

We were separated once again as we ran to the house.

"Lucy! Jeremy! Where are you?" Matt shouted.

"Keep going. We're almost there."

I found Jeremy and ran diagonally towards him. We heard Matt scream and tried to find him.

Elena was helping Matt up. The body of one of the new-vamps was lying on the floor.

Elena looked at Matt's neck. "Oh my god..."

"Lucy healed it a bit," he answered.

"Come on, no time for chats!" I said, grabbing Matt's arm and running towards the house. We made it inside, but just barely.

"Go up to the attic," I said to Matt. "Elena can give you some vampire blood."

* * *

I dabbed the cloth in some water and then cleaned Matt's wound with it.

"Sun's up. They're long gone," Jeremy said.

I looked up to see Damon had entered the room.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Elena snapped. "All I asked you to do was to teach him how to fight."

"He's not the best student in the world," Damon said.

"Wait, so now this is my fault?"

"All done," I smiled at Matt.

"You should really get better at those healing spells."

"Hey!" I smacked his arm and he chuckled.

"Stop talking," Damon said to Jeremy. "Look, I know you're angry, but my way was the easiest, fastest, and safest way to complete his mark to get you the cure."

"I don't care about the cure, Damon. Not if it means putting the people that I love in danger."

"Hey, there would have been no danger if he hadn't gone all bleeding heart."

I stood up. "Quit putting the blame on Jeremy, Damon," I put down the cloth on the table. "This is all _your _fault and yours alone. Well, yours and Klaus'. They were innocent people and Jeremy killed one of them because of your impatience."

"The mark grew, didn't it?" Damon sneered.

"We could've found a safer way," I responded.

"Well, this was the best way, bossy-boots," he said.

Elena sighed. "Okay. Look. We need a plan. There's a group of compelled vampires out there, and as soon as the sun goes down, they're gonna come after Matt, so we have to find a way to protect him."

"Yes, I know." Damon walked over to Jeremy and put his arm around his shoulder in a brotherly fashion. Jeremy glared at him. "But there will be no problem when big Jer and I here go on a hunting expedition."

"No, not happening," I said, shaking my head.

"Elena," he addressed, giving me a look that said very clearly 'shut up'. "I know, it's tragic. I get it. But we also agree that he had to kill them. Now, we have added incentive. So you take the least most valuable player home; Jeremy and I will finish this."

"I'm sorry? Are saying we should leave him here with you?" Elena asked.

"My point exactly," I added, crossing my arms.

He gave me the 'shut the hell up' look again. "Trust me. I will keep him safe. Okay?"

Elena stared at him before nodding her head.

"No!" I exclaimed. "You and Jeremy are _not _going on a vampire-hunting-spree!"

"Nobody asked for your opinion, bossy-boots," he sing-songed.

"Well, Elena is sired to you, so of course she's going to agree with everything you say," I told him, earning a glare. "So, I'm entrusted with the duty of making family decisions."

"I second that," Jeremy said.

Elena scowled at me. "Stop acting like you're so mature," Elena said. "You can't even handle your own feelings."

I rolled my eyes. "Get over yourself, Elena."

"Hey, you two, stop it," Jeremy said. "But Lucy's right, Elena, you can't exactly be trusted with making decisions to do with Damon right now."

She scoffed. "Neither should she," Elena gestured to me. "Not when she's suffering from some weird form of PTSD."

I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes at her.

"As much as I'm enjoying this," Damon said, "I'm going to take Jeremy to the bar. And you're not going to stop me."

I threw my hands in the air, giving up. "Fine. But if he's hurt, I swear to God, Damon, I will kill you."

I held up his hands defensively. "Relax. I won't let him get hurt."

"No, you won't," I said. "You won't because I'm coming with you."

"_What_?" Damon exclaimed. "No, you are not coming with us. You're too fragile."

I scoffed. "Fragile, huh?" I narrowed my eyes at him and he cried in anguish, his hands gripping onto his head.

"Fine, fine!" he said. "You're not fragile! Just stop with the witchy migraine!"

I smiled in satisfaction. "I think I've proven my point."

* * *

"Do you really think they went back to the bar?" Jeremy asked Damon as he opened the truck.

"Where else are they gonna go?" Damon answered. "It's all cabins and vacation homes; they can't get in anywhere."

Damon handed Jeremy and me a gun each. I held it in my hand while Jeremy put it in his back pocket. Damon then handed Jeremy a bow.

"All right. There you go."

"Fine. Let's get this over with," Jeremy said, pulling back the bow.

I patted him on the back reassuringly.

"Listen, just go one at a time, only shoot for the heart, don't hesitate, and don't miss." He handed Jeremy an arrow. Damon turned to me. "And you; you have a tendency to forget that you're a witch all of a sudden." He shook his head. "Don't do that."

I smiled sarcastically. "I'll try my best," I said. "You know, you don't have to be all super-nice-hero-guy. Elena's not here."

"Yeah, save the teaching moment. You don't have to pretend like you give a damn about me."

Damon shut the trunk. "I'm trying to keep you alive, dumbass. And we don't want to lose our substitute witch." He handed Jeremy more arrows. "Come on."

He started walking towards the bar. Jeremy and I followed him.

"I'm so not the substitute witch," I muttered.

I was trying my best at magic, so titles I used to have been proud to wear insulted me now.

Cautiously, we went into the bar. Jeremy held up his bow. My grip tightened on the gun, though my real saviour would be my powers.

"Something's not right," Damon observed.

"Well done, Captain Obvious," I murmured snappishly.

We followed the trail of blood into the storage room. A pile of vampire corpses were in the corner, the stench circling the room.

"Looks like we're gonna have to find some new vampires. What a waste," he said.

"Who the hell did this?" I exclaimed, my eyes widened.

"I confess." I whipped around to see the youngest male Original, Kol. "I did it. Lucinda, you're looking lovely. But are dresses really appropriate when you're going to kill vampires?"

I held up the gun at him. "Too bad there aren't any to kill." He smirked at me.

"Kol?" Jeremy asked.

He turned to Jer. "Jeremy. Good to see you, mate. Sorry about the mess. Ugh, it was a little crowded when I arrived, and I prefer more intimate gatherings. We three need to have a little chat." He took a swig of alcohol. "Care for a drink?"

"They're underage, and I don't like you, so let's just cut to it," Damon snapped.

"You know, my brother bragged about his plan to complete Jeremy's hunter's mark," Kol explained. "It was easy enough to track this lot down. They were all hiding in the shadows. Now, killing young vampires is easy, or old ones, for that matter."

"Why? What's it to you either way?" Damon enquired.

"Because, you fools, in your zeal to find the cure, you risk waking someone very dangerous."

"Oh...You must be talking about Silas," he answered, smirking slightly.

"What do you know of him?" the Original pressed.

"Nothing. Don't want to. Not our problem."

"Isn't it?"

"Uh-uh," Damon tutted, knowing that Kol was going to tell us a long story about this Silas dude.

"A few hundred years back, I came across a group that worshipped Silas. His followers told me that he would rise again, and when he did, he would trigger the end of all time. You know, being an immortal, you can see why I'm opposed to time's ending. So I murdered all of them. And now, here you are willing to risk raising him in your search for the cure. I can't exactly sit back and let that happen, can I?"

"We're not going to back off the cure 'cause you were told one too many scary bedtime stories, you idiot," Damon snarled.

Kol pushed Damon. "Jeremy, we were mates in Colorado. You're a smart lad. Why don't you call off this imbecilic treasure hunt?"

Jeremy kept his bow held up and glared at Kol. "I'm not calling anything off, mate."

"Lucinda? You're an intelligent girl. Surely you don't want raise an immortal who may trigger the end of time for a silly cure?"

"I'm not scared of a myth," I spat.

Kol took a step back. "You know, I could just kill Jeremy. But then, I'd have to deal with the hunter's curse. And I, I don't particularly feel like being haunted for the next century. Better idea. I'll just rip off your arms."

I thrusted my arm forwards and Kol flew through the air, banging against the wall.

"You two go, I'll hold him off."

I was getting sick of being saved by Damon, but a gripped Jeremy's arm and pulled him out of the bar nonetheless.

We had no way of Damon back. I felt bad that we left Damon there, even if he was just using Jeremy for the purpose of getting the cure.

There was only one way of getting him back.

"Call Elena," I told Jeremy. "And go to the lake house."

"Where are you going?"

"We have to get Damon back," I said. "And the only person Kol will listen to is Klaus and-"

"You're going to seduce Klaus so he'll make Kol give Damon back?" Jeremy asked, raising an eyebrow.

I scrunched my nose in disgust. "No, ew, Jeremy. I'm going to _convince _him, not _seduce _him."

"Sure..." Jeremy said skeptically.

"Jeremy!"

He rolled his eyes. "Take the car."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I can walk - or run - depending on how freaked out I get."

I let out a small laugh. "Alright. Go."

He nodded and I got into the car and drove to Klaus' mansion, to beg for his assistance like some damsel in distress.

* * *

"A bit ironic, you coming to me for help. Weren't your friends just trying to bury me in a cement tomb?" Klaus asked.

"Well, since this is your fault, I thought you'd be delighted to help," I answered, sarcasm laced in my tone. "You're the one who forced Jeremy to kill the vampires."

"And now my little brat of a brother has gone and made things worse," Klaus said. "Well, he never did like Damon. I suppose I should do something, shouldn't I?"

"Yes, you should," I said. "Call him off, Klaus."

"You are in no position to make demands, love," he snarled. "You or your family. Whilst I would like to cure your sister to make more hybrids, I do have other reasons for finding the cure. Not the least of which is destroying it so you lot can't use it against me."

"Wow, you have trust issues," I said, causing him to smirk. "Look, Klaus, please do this. Just call him. I'm _begging _you."

Klaus grinned. "I've brought you down to begging?"

"Yes you have," I replied. "I said it once and I won't say it again."

He smiled and rolled his eyes. I sighed in relief when he finally got out his phone and called Kol.

"Little brother. Just two days home, and I'm told you've already gone and made a mess."

I smiled at him. 'Thank you' I mouthed. He rolled his eyes again, but smiled nonetheless.

"Those vampires were for my hunter... Where's Damon Salvatore?... Yes, she is here and I have my reasons. Well, you've had your fun, Kol. Now let him go and come home. Avoid any more trouble, or you'll find yourself back in a box... On the contrary, I find nastiness to be essential whenever my siblings try to sabotage me. Listen closely, Kol. Stay away from the Gilbert boy. You understand?"

He hung up. "Thank you," I said.

"Well, love, you did beg," he replied.

I scoffed. "Seriously, Klaus? Does begging really have that much of an effect on you?"

"Only from you," he said and I looked up. He sounded sincere and almost vulnerable.

No, no! He ruined anything I felt for him when he sliced his blade through Kim's neck. I realised I was staring at him and coughed awkwardly.

"Well, I should be going then," I said, standing up. "But thank you. Seriously."

He grinned. "I've always loved helping damsels."

I scoffed. "I'm not a damsel."

"Of course your not." He stood up and walked towards me. "You're anything but." He brushed a loose hair behind my ear and leaned in to whisper, "Which happens to be one of the reasons I fancy you."

Words couldn't describe how turned on was. How much I just wanted to jump him, right there and there. My breathing quickened and I had to close my eyes and purse my lips to stop myself from planting my lips on his. This was wrong. This was wrong. This was so, _so _wrong in so many ways. First, he was a killer. Second, he was like a thousand years old. Third, he terrorised my friends and my family! And here I was getting dirty thoughts about him.

Damon did all that too, though, only he was one hundred and sixty years old, but that wasn't too much of a problem. Elena was able to look past that, even before the sire-bond.

I had to be the responsible one, though. The sibling not ruled by desire or lust over a bad guy (an incredibly _hot _bad guy). Jeremy needed me and I had to protect him. I came second to everyone else, even in my own mind.

I opened my eyes and stepped back, finally getting a grip. I rubbed the nape of my neck and refused to look at Klaus, afraid that one glance would fuel my desire and the whole ordeal would happen all over again.

"I should - I should - um - go," I stammered. "I'll show myself out."

I rushed to the door and stormed out of the house, mentally cursing myself as I went. I threw my arms up in the air and groaned, disappointed in myself.

* * *

I ran my fingers through my hair as I walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. I held my head in my hands and sighed, frustrated by the days events.

Hearing someone enter the kitchen, I looked up to see my sister.

"Hey," I said, wanting to put things right.

"Hey," she responded, sitting in front of me. "Today's been hectic. Did you get Klaus to call Kol?"

I nodded. "He got Kol to leave Jeremy alone and to let Damon go."

Elena exhaled in relief. "Good."

"Look, about today-"

"I know," Elena finished. "I'm sorry too. I should have been there for you these past few days, but I wasn't."

"What I said, it was horrible," I added. "This whole thing with Damon and Stefan is becoming tiring. And now they're looking for a cure so they can find out which one of them you truly love, on Damon's part anyway, while the rest of us just want to save you from the thing that will ruin you."

Elena groaned and sat back in her chair. "I'm tired of people trying to 'fix' me. I don't want to be a vampire, not at all, but I am. I don't want the stupid cure if it means hurting the people I love in the process." Someone knocked on the door. "And I think Stefan might have moved on."

I looked at her incredulously. "What?"

"With Rebekah. They're getting cozy together." She sounded jealous, despite having no right to.

"It's nothing, Elena," I said. "They had a thing in the twenties, that's it."

She sighed. "You know, Damon and I weren't the only reason we broke up," she started, but before she could go any further, someone knocked on the door. "I'll get it."

She opened the front door. It was Damon. Thank God he was safe.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"Kol happened," he replied.

I quit eavesdropping on their conversation and went upstairs to my room.

* * *

I savoured the moments of peace and tranquility before my duties rang. Literally. Answering the phone, I bit my tongue to try and not lash out at the person her called.

It didn't work.

"_What_?" I spat at the caller.

"_Lucy!" _Elena said, happy I had answered. _"I've tried calling you about ten times! Something's happened."_

I scoffed. "You've only been gone for what? A half an hour? And you're already in trouble? Honestly, Elena, that's bad."

_"I'm not the one in trouble. Jeremy is." _I shot up immediately and put on my shoes. _"Damon's trying to kill him."_

I furrowed my brow in confusion. "I know they don't exact get alone, but killing him? Isn't that exaggerating?"

Elena let out an exasperated sigh. _"No, Lucy. He's actually trying to kill Jeremy. I'm in the tunnels at the grill and I have no hope of finding them."_

I ran outside to the car and hopped in. "Alright, I'm coming. Hold on."

_"Couldn't you do a locator spell or something?"_

"It wouldn't work. They're probably moving around a lot, especially Jeremy considering Damon is trying to kill him."

_"Oh. Yeah, right."_

"I'm on my way. See you soon."

* * *

_They're in the woods._

I rushed into the woods after receiving the text from Elena.

Maybe this was good. Besides the whole 'trying to kill my brother' thing, Damon was proving to be a good distraction from my self-hate.

I jumped in fright when I heard a twig snap. _Wimp_.

"Lucy?"

I shrieked and whipped around. "Stefan?" he looked worried. "Stefan! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

He chuckled. "Where's Damon?"

"Somewhere in the woods," I said.

"Come on, I think I got his scent," he told me and bent over.

I cocked up an eyebrow. "Stefan, what are you doing?"

He smirked. "Hop on."

"Are you offering me a piggy-back?" I asked.

"Indeed," he said.

I laughed and hopped on. For the second time, I experienced vampire-speed. I enjoyed it this time, since it was Stefan and not Damon. I even 'whooo'ed as we speeded through the forest.

I was disappointed when we stopped and I had to get down.

"We are so doing that more often," I said.

"We'll see," he replied, grinning. "Be right back."

He vamp-ran away from me. I raced after him. I got there just in time to see him snap Damon's neck. "You're welcome," he said to Elena. "I'll take him home. Lock him up."

I kneeled down next to Jeremy. I touched the wound on his arm gently.

"Ah," he cried.

I did a healing spell. They were getting better the more often I did them.

"You didn't ask for my permission first," Jeremy grinned.

"I didn't ask for Matt's, I most certainly won't ask for yours," I said. "Let's get you home."

I helped him up. He observed his arm. "It's almost completely gone. Matt's didn't heal this fast."

"Maybe I'm getting better," I said, wiggling my eyebrows.

"Oh please, you just got lucky."

* * *

I was cleaning Jeremy's wound when Elena stormed into the living room and plopped onto the armchair.

"What's gotten you so angry?" Jeremy asked.

"Stefan wouldn't let me see Damon," Elena said. "He said I'd just let him out."

"Well, you would, you're sired," Jeremy pointed out.

"And he's hanging around with Rebekah despite her being the reason I'm a vampire!" Elena exclaimed, rather dramatically.

"Damon's the reason Vicki both turned and died," my intelligent brother countered yet again.

"Plus he tried to kill Jeremy - your brother - _twice_," I added, holding up two fingers.

"That's what Stefan said."

"It's a valid argument," Jeremy said. "Damon isn't a saint. None of them are."

"When you think about it, none of _us_ are," I said. "We've all done bad things, killed people, acted selfishly. What makes you think we're any better than Rebekah?"

Elena scoffed, upset that the world didn't revolve around her.

Someone knocked on the door. Elena jumped up to answer it and Jeremy and I followed.

We were greeted by the one and only Klaus Mikaelson.

"Good evening, Gilbert clan."

I groaned. "And you're here why...?"

He grinned. "I've come to fetch my hunter. Seeing as how my brother's become a liability, Jeremy will be safer with me."

"I think I'll pass. I've killed enough people for you today."

"You think you're safer here?" Klaus asked, rhetorically. "Hmm. Clearly you don't know Kol. He'll stop at nothing to get what he wants, so strange as it may seem, I'm your best bet."

"Sorry, but I think we'd rather take our chances," Elena spat.

Klaus was right. Jeremy might be better off with him, but there was no way I was handing my hunter brother over to a psychopath like Klaus.

"Fine. But when Kol does come - and he will come - be sure to let me know, preferably before he burns your nice little home to the ground. And as for you, hunter, there's no shortage of people to turn or loved ones to threaten, so sleep well. We'll plan on finishing our work tomorrow." He looked to me and grinned, before turning around and walking away.

Elena shut the door behind him.

I went to grab some ice-cream from the fridge. Ice-cream helped all of life's problems. I sat down at the table and dug into the delicious dessert.

I hadn't noticed Jeremy and Elena had followed me into the kitchen. There were weapons scattered all around the table.

Jeremy leaned on one of the kitchen chairs and Elena stood on the other side of the table.

"This is never gonna end," Jeremy said. "If Kol doesn't kill me first, then Klaus is just gonna force me to kill more innocent people. How many is it gonna take? Ten? A hundred?"

Elena looked as if she just realised something big. I imagined a light-bulb at the top of her head.

"If you kill one Original vampire, their entire sire line will die with them. That's thousands, maybe tens of thousands of vampires. Kol compelled Damon to kill you. You're gonna kill Kol instead."

Great, so my sister was going to sacrifice tens of thousands of vampires in our pursuit for the cure. That was plain wrong. And Jeremy had no problem doing it. I didn't know which was worse. All that I did know, was that our family was getting worse by the second.

* * *

_**A/N: Reviews are like cookies!**_


	12. Accusations and Murders

_Accusations and Murders_

"Wait, you slept with _Rebekah_?" I exclaimed in shock. "I'm not judging, but... Rebekah? Are we talking about the same girl?"

_"Um... I think so. Blonde hair, blue eyes-"_

"Total psychopath?"

_"Mhmm."_

"Right. We're talking about the same person." I sighed. "Well, at least one of us got some."

_"I take it someone's sexually frustrated."_

"No, Stefan, we are so not talking about this," I said. "I talk to you about a lot of things, but my s... - my _romantic _- life is off limits."

He chuckled, but the line went silent. "Stefan?" I asked.

_"Oh, sorry, I dozed off."_

"Still thinking of Rebekah?" I teased.

_"Ha ha," _he deadpanned_. "But no. Did I mention that Klaus walked in before I left?"_

I burst out in a fit of laughter. "He didn't!"

_"He did." _The laughter only continued. _"Hey, it's not that funny."_

I wiped tears from my eyes. "Oh, but Stefan, it's hilarious."

_"I gotta go and check on Damon," _Stefan said, not wanting to be ridiculed any longer.

I sighed."How is Damon?" I asked. "Has he tried to break out yet?"

_"Nothing major," _Stefan answered. _"I think he knows that if he breaks out, he'll kill Jeremy, and we won't find the cure and Elena will be heart-broken."_

"Well, at least he has sense."

_"Look, I really got to go. I'll talk to you later."_

"'Kay, see ya, Stef," I said.

_"Bye, Luce."_

He hung up. I put my phone on my bed-side table and went downstairs. Matt and Jeremy were playing a ridiculously loud video game while Elena wiped her burnt hand.

I looked at my sister with an amused expression. "Vervain?" I guessed.

She shot me a glare. "Why is it so amusing? Did you turn into a sadist over night?"

I laughed. "Nope," I said, popping the 'p'. "I just knew this would happen; New Mayor and all."

"Bonnie's dad wouldn't," Elena shook her head.

"Oh, he would," I said. "He's trying to protect Bonnie from vampires. Best way to do that is put vervain in the water."

"Great," Elena said through gritted teeth, practically throwing the towel onto the table. "Now I can't drink or eat in public!"

"Hey, you two keep in down in there!" Jeremy yelled from the sitting room. "We're trying to play a game."

I rolled my eyes and stormed into the sitting room. I pressed the turn off button on the TV.

"No!" Matt and Jeremy cried.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Jeremy questioned angrily.

"Tidy up the weapons in the kitchen and do something productive for the day," I ordered. "Like _train_, maybe? Just a suggestion, but since you're going to attempt to kill an Original Vampire, you should really train."

Jeremy groaned. "_Fine_," he spat, standing up.

"Good."

* * *

_**Third Person POV**_

"You know, none of this would be an issue if you'd have just done your job properly. I was perfectly willing to let you train Jeremy," Klaus said, pacing up and down the Salvatore cellar, babysitting Damon Salvatore.

"No, you weren't. Are you kidding? You got there day two. Do you know how hard it is to get these Xbox brains to focus?" Damon argued. "And it's not exactly easy to get his bossy-boots sister off my case."

"And then when I turned a room full of barflies into vampires for him to slaughter," Klaus started, "you let Kol kill them."

"Your brother problem, not mine, buddy," Damon countered.

"And whose bright idea was it to saddle Jeremy with a conscience, hmm?" Klaus said.

"Well, we couldn't have him trying to stake Elena in her sleep, now, could we?" Damon replied.

"Ah, yes, for the love of Elena. How is it that she manages to overlook every horrific thing you've ever done? Is it willful ignorance, or perhaps something more pathological?"

"Some people are just more capable of forgiveness than others," Damon shrugged. "Bet you score about a negative five-hundred in that realm."

Klaus smiled. "Come on. There must be a secret. It can't just be the sire bond. What is it? Compulsion? Manipulation?" Damon didn't reply to the hybrid. "What is it you say to her?"

Damon sat up. "I think this has something to do with a certain brown-haired, over-protective witch. I think you murdered Carol Lockwood and slaughtered twelve hybrids and I think you're worried that Lucy's never going to forgive you."

"You've done worse," Klaus commented.

"Debatable," Damon said. "See, I don't mind being the bad guy, because somebody has to fill that role and get things done. You do bad things for no reason. You do them to be a dick."

"Debatable," Klaus said.

Damon shrugged. "If you're gonna be bad, be bad with a purpose. Otherwise, you're just not worth forgiving." He lay back down and threw the ball into the air. "And especially with her morals and annoying stubbornness - which she and Elena unfortunately share - it's possible that she'll never forgive you."

Klaus smirked. "Never's a long time."

"Not for her," Damon said. Klaus raised an eyebrow, expecting him to continue. "What? You really expect her to become a _vampire_ and live out eternity with you?" He snorted. "No way, buddy. Lucy Gilbert is going to live a human life and then she's going to die of old age." He looked at Klaus pointedly. "As a _human_."

"How can you be so sure she won't want to turn?" the hybrid asked.

"Lucy's a witch," he explained. "Witches hate vampires."

"Lucy's best friends are vampires," Klaus said. "Stefan and Caroline Forbes."

Damon nodded. "True, but like our Bennett witch, she hates the species, not the people. Which is precisely why she won't want to be a vampire. Hell, Elena didn't want to be a vampire and she was a human." Klaus looked saddened by the revelation. Damon snorted again. "You didn't think she'd fall in love with you, did you?" The hybrid narrowed his eyes at him. "You killed her aunt, terrorised her friends and family - especially her brother, who you almost got killed, even I know that's a no-go - and then you kill a hybrid right in front of her." Klaus' guilt was written all over his face. "Look, one thing you and the Gilbert witch have in common is that you're control freaks, you more than her. She hates not being able to save people, she hates being powerless. And now she's spending almost every waking moment of every day practicing her voodoo stuff so it won't happen again."

"I didn't mean to hurt her," Klaus said quietly. "I was angry." His voice loudened. "My hybrids had betrayed me."

"Try telling her that," the Salvatore brother huffed. "You'll get one heck of a migraine."

* * *

_**Lucy's POV**_

_"Hey, is Elena there?"_

I looked over to my sister standing by the counter, no doubt listening to Bonnie and my conversation. "Yeah, she is."

_"Kol tried to attack me. My magic is getting out of control, Lucy."_

"Can't Professor Shane help you?" I asked. "He knows everything."

_"He can, but when he's not around, I have no control. I don't know what to do!"_

Bonnie sounded close to tears. "I don't know what to say, Bon," I told her. "Just stay close to the Professor."

_"Yeah, yeah. I'll do that. I gotta go, but thanks for listening."_

"Bye."

I slipped the phone into my jacket pocket. "Kol tried to attack Bonnie."

Jeremy stormed into the kitchen. "What?"

I sighed. "Kol tried to kill Bonnie." His eyes widened. "But don't worry, she's okay. I'll call Stefan. Can I use your phone?" I asked Elena. "My battery's nearly dead."

She nodded and handed me her phone. I was surprised she didn't want to talk to Stefan herself.

_"Damon's fine. I locked him up with all the creature comforts he deserves."_

"Oooh... whose the dude stuck with babysitting killer-mad-Damon?"

_"Lucy?"_

"Yup."

_"I'm kind of busy right now."_

"I didn't call for a chat, Stefan," I said. "Kol just tried to kill Bonnie."

_"What? Is she okay?"_

"Yeah, but she seems pretty shaken up. She managed to hold Kol off, but Kol seems intent on murdering everyone looking for the cure."

_"Yeah, Klaus has me trying to convince Rebekah to give up her dagger so he can take care of Kol."_

I groaned. "Elena and Jeremy don't want Kol daggered, they want him dead."

I heard the sound of a motorcycle starting up.

_"What did you just say?"_

"Bonnie's crazy powerful now. She thinks she can hold him long enough for Jeremy to stake him."

_"And then what, huh? Klaus and Rebekah will kill every one of us out of spite. They may be dysfunctional bickering lunatics, but they stick together no matter what."_

"That's why you need the dagger. To use it on Rebekah."

_"Yeah I can't do that."_

"Look, I know you and Rebekah are 'close', and I don't support this at all-"

"He's talking about how vampires can't use the dagger," Elena said. "Tell him Matt can."

"He can hear you," I told her. "Vamp-hearing?"

"Oh, right. Stefan, Bonnie thinks she can get Klaus out of the picture, temporarily. Once we get this cure, none of this will matter because we can use it against them."

"All right, fine, but how do you plan to lure Kol in?"

* * *

"Actually, it's Elena Gilbert... I need to talk to you – in person."

Matt, Jeremy and I were preparing weapons for Kol.

"I'll meet you wherever you want. I'll come to you."

The doorbell rang and we all turned to stare at the door. Jeremy held up his gun, pointing it at the door.

"If you want a truce, open the door and invite me in," the Original demanded.

Elena was flustered as she searched around for something to help our situation.

"I'm waiting. Let me in and let's talk truce," Kol said.

Elena took a blackboard down from the wall.

"Hello?" he pressed.

"Wouldn't that be kind of stupid to invite you in?" Elena asked as she wrote on the blackboard.

"On the contrary, I can't kill your brother with my own two hands, or I'll suffer the hunter's curse and spend the next twenty years trying to off myself in gruesome ways," Kol explained.

She showed the blackboard to Matt. 'Help Stefan find dagger,' it said. He nodded and left through the back door.

"And I've heard that vervain's back in town, so I can't compel you to kill him either. So I think it's fair to say you're semi-safe, for now," Kol said.

"And me?" I asked, trying to buy Elena some time.

"Why would I want to kill you?" he said. "My brother would dagger me if I so much as touched you."

I rolled my eyes. "Good."

Elena erased the board and wrote a new message for Jeremy and I. 'Get out. Get Bonnie.'

"We're the only people who can invite him inside," Jeremy said.

"He's right, obviously," Kol said.

Elena opened the door to Kol. "You'd think being alive for over a thousand years would teach me some manners, but I couldn't resist stopping by."

"If I let you in, my brother goes. You're not getting near him," Elena told him.

"Fair enough," Kol shrugged.

Elena looked back at Jeremy and I. I nodded. "Come in."

Jeremy went out the back door.

"No gold medals for bravery, I see. You know the thing I love about the modern age is... music, anytime you like," Kol said.

He put his phone and earphones in his pocket. I saw the white oak stake, stashed in an inside pocket of Kol's jacket.

Elena gave me a pointed look, gesturing for me to go. "I-uh-I have to go check on Damon."

Elena nodded and I slipped through the back door.

I ran after Jeremy. "Hey? Has Bonnie contacted you?"

"She hasn't been answering any of my calls," he said. "I'm going to her house."

I nodded. "I figured."

We rushed to the Bennett's house. Jeremy pounded on the door.

Rudy Hopkins, Bonnie's dad, answered it. "Yeah?"

"Is Bonnie here?" Jeremy asked.

"She's busy," the mayor asked, shutting the door.

Jeremy burst through. "It's important."

Bonnie joined us. "What's going on?"

"I've called you like a hundred times," Jeremy said.

"Kol is in our house," I told her.

Bonnie looked horrified. She turned to Mr. Hopkins. "I have to go," she said, panicking.

"I said _no_."

Bonnie broke the lamp using her magic.

"Stop telling me what to do," Bonnie snapped.

She tried walking out the door, but her mom, Abby, stood there, not letting her out. "No one's going anywhere."

"Mom?" Bonnie questioned.

"Abby, please come in," Mayor Hopkins said.

Bonnie looked shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"Your father called. Who's Professor Shane? What has he been teaching you?" Abby pressed.

"Bonnie, we have to go," I pleaded.

"This is a family matter," Rudy said.

I turned to face the mayor. "My sister's in trouble. There's psychotic vampire in our house. We need Bonnie's help."

"My daughter is _done _helping Elena Gilbert. Now get out!" Bonnie's mom yelled.

Jeremy pulled out a stake and attempted to attack Abby, his hunter instincts getting the better of him.

"Jeremy!" I shrieked.

Abby caught his arm before he could harm her.

"Don't! Jeremy! Hey, stop! Stop."

Bonnie pulled Jeremy away from Abby and grabbed the nape of his neck gently.

"Don't hurt her. She's my mom," Bonnie begged.

His eyes softened as he looked at Bonnie. Why the hell did he have to screw up their relationship by kissing a ghost? _Honestly_.

"All right? Look at me."

Jeremy took a step back. "Just go, okay? I'm right behind you." She looked to me. "I'll be fine. I promise."

I nodded and followed Jeremy out the door.

* * *

Jeremy opened the door cautiously and walked in. He held a gun loaded with wooden bullets.

"I don't think there's anyone here, Jer. Calm down."

He let out a small laugh. "Sorry, hunter-overdrive."

He closed the door. We heard a noise and Jeremy pointed his gun forward, ready to shoot. But the noise was made by Elena.

"I'm sorry. He left. I mean, I – I tried to stall as long as I could," Elena said.

The doorbell rang. "That's Bonnie. She was right behind me."

I opened the door, but instead of Bonnie, it was Kol.

He looked past me at Elena, smirking. "I've considered your request for a truce." His expression darkened. "Request denied."

I slammed the door in his face and stepped back. Jeremy, Elena and I ran upstairs.

"I'm sorry. I've already been invited in!" he shouted.

He kicked the door down.

"Hide and seek? Fine by me."

* * *

Elena ran into her bedroom. She pushed the dresser in front of the door, having annoyed Kol.

"Help me!" she whispered furiously.

I rushed over to her and helped her push. Kol was pushing back and, since he was stronger, he managed to get the door open and we fell to the ground. Elena grabbed me and we vampire-speeded to the bathroom. She locked the door.

"Go, I'll hold him off," I said.

She nodded and ran out. Kol kicked open the door. I flicked my two fingers and Kol flew back.

He stood up. I squinted my eyes and he grunted in pain, but was able to overcome it quicker than I hoped he would.

"Oh, come on, you'll have to do better than that," he teased, smirking.

I stepped backwards until I was pressed again the wall. Kol ripped one of the legs out of the table. My eyes widened and I tried to run into Jeremy's room, but Kol grabbed my shoulder and stabbed me through the stomach. I gasped and fell to the floor.

Kol punched through the door. I tried muttering some healing spells, but they weren't doing an good. I needed vampire blood.

"Go!" I heard Elena yell.

I looked up to see Elena shooting Kol with the gun. Kol threw back one of the stakes, hitting her in the thigh.

She pulled the stake out of her leg and rushed over to me. "Oh my God."

She bit into her wrist and offered it to me. I sucked at it and the blood immediately took effect.

We stood up and ran into the hall. Kol threw Jeremy down the stairs. Elena jumped on Kol's back, but he threw back against the wall. He ripped one of the posts from the stairs' railing and attacked Elena with it, stabbing her through the abdomen and pinning her to the wall.

I hid in Jeremy's room, waiting for Kol to go.

"Now... about that arm," Kol said. I heard him dragging Jeremy down the stairs.

As soon as I was sure Kol was gone, I pulled at the stake impaled through Elena. She grunted in pain, but it wouldn't budge.

"I'll be fine," she said. "Go get Jeremy."

I nodded and went down into the kitchen, grabbing one of Jeremy's guns on my way.

Kol was tying Jeremy to the island.

"I thought you'd be dead," Kol said, strapping Jeremy's right arm. "Ah... the miracle of vampire blood."

"Let him go," I said. "Let him go and I promise you we won't go searching for the cure. Please, Kol."

"No, can do," Kol said, getting a cleaver out of the knife block. "Now, like I said, I don't fancy the hunter's curse, so I'm just going to chop of your arm. But don't worry, I'll heal you right up with a bit of blood after."

I bit my lip. My powers were weak against him, but he was about to chop Jeremy's arm off, I had to do something.

I pulled the trigger on the gun. The stake hit Kol in the shoulder. I kept on pulling the trigger and he kept pulling them out.

"This is stupid," Kol groaned. "You're not doing anything but delaying the inevitable."

Kol held Jeremy's head against the counter. I began to panic. The light in the room kept on going on and off and loose papers flew through the room. I was trying to distract Kol to buy us some time. Maybe Damon would come to the rescue? But then he'd kill Jeremy... No, we had to do this on our own.

The Original smirked. "I underestimated you," he said. "But like I said, you're wasting your time." He vampire speeded in front of me and smacked me. I fell back into the wall. My head was bleeding. "Sorry about that, had to be done. Where were we?"

He went back over to my brother. "Sorry about the sting. Now, which arm is it? Is it left or right? I'll just chop of both to be safe."

Kol raised the knife over his arms. Elena sped into the room. The cleaver missed Jeremy and instead sliced through one of the straps. Elena slammed the cleaver into Kol's chest. Jeremy unstrapped the other arm and grabbed the spray hose at the sink. He sprayed Kol with the vervained water. His skin burnt and he cried out in anguish as the water hit him. Elena took out the white oak stake and threw it to Jeremy.

"Jeremy, now!" Elena yelled.

Jeremy gripped the stake and impaled Kol through the heart with it. He burst into flames and screamed as he ran through the kitchen. I stood up, the vampire blood in my system had took effect.

I turned to the doorway, seeing the one person we didn't want to see right now; Klaus.

He glared at us, tears in his eyes. "What did you do?"

"Klaus, he was going to kill us," I half-lied, approaching the door. "He was trying to cut off Jeremy's arms! We didn't exactly have a choice."

"Lies!" he exclaimed. "He never would've gotten inside if you hadn't have set a trap for him."

"You were going to put him down too," I tried. "Klaus-"

"I was going to make him suffer on _my terms_!" he shouted furiously. "I'm going to burn this house to the ground. And then, when you try to flee for your lives, I'll kill you all without blinking."

That hurt. It shouldn't, but it did hurt.

"You kill us, you'll never get to the cure," Jeremy said. "You'll never be able to make any more hybrids."

"You really think I care for an instant about my bloody hybrids? I want the cure so I can destoy it. I would've killed you all the second we dug it up, but now I'm just gonna watch you burn instead."

Klaus fell to the ground suddenly, yelling in pain and falling to his knees. Bonnie appeared and slid in past him.

"Invite him in," she ordered.

"What?" I said, confused and raising an eyebrow.

"Do it!"

Klaus got up and glared at me. "Come in."

Klaus magically pulled him inside.

"Living room. Go!"

We ran through the living room and into the kitchen, scared out of our skins. Klaus, due to some magical barrier, couldn't follow us into the kitchen. He pounded at the air, but he still couldn't get past. I pulled the white oak stake out of Kol and handed it to Jeremy. Jeremy, Elena and I raced to the door.

"Witch! You can't do this to me," he snapped at Bonnie.

"You have no idea what I can do now," Bonnie replied.

"I will hunt all of you to your end! Do you hear me? Do you?" he yelled.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

He raised an eyebrow, but I shook my head and left with Jeremy, Bonnie and Elena, slamming the door behind me.

* * *

Was it bad that I felt guilty for killing Kol? We just killed a whole line of vampires. Some of them could have been good people, like Stefan or Caroline.

Jeremy paced the length of the Salvatore Boarding House's living room, staring at his arm.

"Anything there?" I asked.

He shood his head. "It didn't work."

"It took time for Finn's line to die off, remember? It'll work," Bonnie assured.

"What if it doesn't?" he questioned.

"Then we just killed a couple hundred vampires for no reason at all," I said.

"Where's that Gilbert optimism?"

I turned to look at Damon, who was walking over to Elena.

"Who's stupid enough to let you out?"

"I let myself out," he said proudly. "Vervained water - Klaus couldn't compel me."

I scoffed, but secretly I was glad he was okay. He wasn't trying to kill Jeremy, so the guilt of leaving him there to be tortured by Kol wore off, but I was still grateful. Even if it was for Elena.

Him and Elena hugged. "Sorry I missed all the excitement."

"I'm just happy to see you," Elena said.

I rolled my eyes. So much cheese.

The front door opened and Stefan walked in holding some headstone, closing the door behind him.

He observed Damon and Elena. "Looks like I didn't miss much. Got the Silas headstone."

"What's that?" I enquired, looking at the headstone.

"We need it for our search for the cure," Stefan explained, setting the stone on a table.

"Klaus is trapped in our living room," Elena told him.

"Temporarily. I drew on the new moon to bind the spell. We've got three days to find that cure – four, max," Bonnie said.

"If we don't, we might as well look up Katherine Pierce and see if she wants some company in hiding, 'cause he will come after us."

"And kill us mercilessly," I added, nodding.

"Don't worry, we'll find it," Elena assured. "Now that we've got Rebekah taken care of, all we need is Professor Shane and then we'll have everything we need."

"Yeah... I didn't, uh... I didn't dagger her."

"What? Why not?" Elena pressed, almost angrily.

"I didn't need to. She's on our side," Stefan explained.

"On our side? Did you really just say that?"

I rolled my eyes and stood up. "Rebekah's not that bad."

"She's the reason I'm a vampire! Why we're looking for the cure!" she exclaimed. "How can you two trust her?"

"She handed over the headstone," Stefan said. "I mean - she wants to find this cure more than any of us."

"Let me guess, she pledged her allegiance to you while you were naked in the sack?" Damon said.

It looked like I was the only person in the room who knew about it, other than Damon and Stefan. Everyone else looked shocked, especially Elena.

"I bet you were just dying to get that out, weren't you, Damon?" Stefan accused calmly.

"Oh, was that supposed to be a secret? Maybe you should have made that a little clearer while you were bleeding me dry in our cellar," Damon replied.

"Yeah, to keep you from killing Jeremy."

"And the only person you told was your ex-girlfriend's sister," he said, pointing to me.

Elena looked at me, hurt and betrayed, but then she shook her head. "Stop it, both of you."

"Now, why don't you tell her to calm down, Damon?" Stefan pressed. "You've managed to use that sire bond pretty well so far, haven't you?"

Damon punched Stefan, knocking him down. Stefan stood up and went to attack Damon, but stopped as we heard Jeremy's yells.

He ripped off his shirt and for the first time, I could see the hunter's mark.

"It's happening," he told us.

"Oh, my god..." Elena said, eyes wide and staring at the mark.

"You can see it?" Jeremy asked and she nodded.

The mark grew up his arm and across his chest. A sign almost like a star was on his chest where the cure was.

"Here we go."

* * *

_**A/N: I didn't want to kill Kol, he's one of my favourite characters, but they needed the hunter's mark to be completed so they could go hunting for it.**_

_**Do you think I should do more third person POV's? Or should I stick with first person? **_

_**Don't forget to review.**_


	13. The Bad List

_The Bad List_

"Come on, Caroline!" I begged. "I was left here to babysit Klaus while everyone else went hiking, I deserve some company."

She rolled her eyes but smiled. "Fine," she said.

I wrapped my arms around the blonde. "Thank you. Now come on."

* * *

We entered through the back door of the house, having hopped the gate that divided Caroline's from mine.

I was surprised to see Tyler there.

"You're still here? What are you doing?" she asked.

"Gloating," Tyler replied, pouring himself a drink.

Klaus walked as far as he could before the barrier stopped him.

"Hello, Caroline, Lucy," he said. He smirked at me while I narrowed my eyes at him. "Last time we saw each other, you murdered my brother."

"Actually, I wasn't the one who murdered your brother," I spat.

"You might as well have," he said, his smirk had faltered and there was a look of sadness on his face.

Caroline looked between the two of us and then at Tyler. "Come home. Don't stoop to his level."

"He destroyed my life," Tyler said. "I plan on being present for every second of his misery until I can kill him myself."

"Well, since your staying, you can help me with the corpse," I said, gesturing to Kol's dead body.

Caroline got a table cloth in the cabinet. We used it to cover Kol's body.

"Tyler's mother is dead. So is my brother. We're even. Call Bonnie," he said to me, almost begging. "Get her to let me out of here."

"And then you snap my neck, decapitate Tyler and bite Caroline," I scoffed. "Why should I help you?"

"How quickly you forget the part where I made my brother promise not to hurt Jeremy," he said.

"Yeah, well, he did that anyway."

"Or when I saved Tyler from the misery of being a werewolf. Or when I saved the life of your best friend as she suffered from a werewolf bite," he said.

"You killed Tyler's mother," I snapped. "Or did you expect us to just forget that? Oh, and let's not ignore the fact that we're standing in the house where my aunt Jenna used to live, before you killed her." I sighed. "No matter how many good deeds you list, the bad list will always be longer."

Suddenly, he vampire-sped over to us and picked up the floor lamp, impaling Caroline with it.

"No!" Tyler cried.

Klaus pulled Caroline into the sitting room and bit her. She fell to the floor.

He smirked at me. "One more to add to that list."

* * *

"Oh my god, oh my god," she repeated as Tyler set her on the sofa.

"Hey, hey. Look at me. I can fix this," he said.

"How? The only thing that can heal me is his blood! Oh my god..."

"I know. I'll fix it."

Caroline nodded at him. Tyler stood up to face Klaus. I kneeled down next to Caroline and held her hand as her face paled.

"She'll die if you don't heal her," Tyler told him.

"Okay," he said. He bit into his wrist and stretched out his arm. "Beg me to save her life."

"Is this what you want?" Tyler pressed. "To remind me that I'm powerless against you? Fine. You win. I'm nothing. Now save her. Please."

"I'm sorry, mate. I didn't quite catch that."

"_Please_."

"Please..."

"Please save her life."

"See, now I think you're just telling me what I want to hear. I mean, you did call me pathetic earlier. And wouldn't it be more pathetic of me to help now, knowing that hours ago, you announced your plan to kill me in a manner in which you're debating because you want it to have a certain amount of flair? I'm just asking."

"I'll be your slave again," Tyler offered. "I'll do whatever you want. Just help her."

"No."

"Get me out of here. I can't even look at him," Caroline said.

"She can rest in my room," I said to Tyler.

Tyler nodded and helped her up. "Come on."

Klaus watched them leave, looking unhappy.

"You're just going to let her die," I said.

"Nothing personal, I need to prove a point," he replied. "And a brother for a friend, perhaps?"

I rolled my eyes. "You're being an absolute dick. _You _ruined Tyler's life, and because he said a few nasty words, freed the hybrids from slavery and tried to kill you - which, in my opinion, was completely justified - you're going to let an innocent person die?"

His face was blank. He might as well have had veins protruding. "As I said, nothing personal, love."

I scoffed and stormed out of the room and went up into mine.

Caroline was crying. "It's getting worse. I'm sorry."

"No. It's my fault. I'm sorry," Tyler said.

"No. You didn't do any of this," she said.

"I unsired the hybrids and turned them on Klaus. I should've just left it alone."

"You freed them, Tyler. People put their faith in you because you're a leader. Don't forget that."

I approached the bed. She was going to die. I couldn't let her die.

"Bring her to Klaus," I said. "Let him watch her as she dies."

"_What_?" Tyler exclaimed. "You're crazy."

I shook my head. "Trust me, Ty."

* * *

Tyler carried Caroline into the living room and laid her down on the floor. Klaus turned around.

"You want to be in control, Klaus? Here. Now you get to be in control of her life. If you want her to die, fine. But then you can sit here and watch her die yourself."

Tyler left through the front door. Klaus approached Caroline.

"As I said to Lucy, it's nothing personal. If I cure you, that means victory for him. Don't worry. It won't be long now."

* * *

Caroline was barely breathing and I was beginning to panic. I was about to lose yet another person I cared about to Klaus.

I stood up and walked towards Klaus. "If you don't feed her your blood, she'll die."

"Let her die," Klaus snarled. "Tyler will have learned his lesson the hard way."

I scoffed and diverted my eyes away from him and at Caroline. "I've never understood how someone could kill an innocent person. How they could just watch the light leave their eyes in their final moments. But I understand now - it's all about control. You love having the power to choose whether or not to save them. You love having to hold their life in your hands before ripping it away." I finally looked at him. "You did it to Jenna, to Tyler's mom and to those hybrids. And now you're going to do it to Caroline. Everyone I care about seems to end up dying at your hand. Why them? Why the people I care about?"

His eyes narrowed, but for a moment I thought there was a hint of regret in his eyes. "I'm a thousand years old. Call it boredom."

"I don't believe you," I said. "It's more than that."

"Fine. Then maybe it's because I'm pure evil and I can't help myself."

I shook my head. "No. You're not completely evil. You got hurt and you lashed out. You fear being alone so you go to desperate measures to insure you're not. Which means there's a part of you that's human. That's good."

"How could you possibly think that?" Klaus asked, stepping closer.

"I've seen it. I've seen the rare moments when you care. And... I've caught myself wishing that I could just forgive you for everything bad you've done."

"But you can't. Can you?" Klaus said.

I shook my head. "No," I said. He looked saddened. "I never forgive. I only try to forget and move on. But I can't do that if you let her die. You made the wrong choice once, Klaus, please, I'm _begging _you to save her."

His rubbed the nape of his neck. "I'll take it under consideration."

I groaned, but at least we were getting somewhere.

I left the room to get something to eat. I knew if I continued to beg him, he could get annoyed and refuse to heal her. Having grabbed some tayto, I went back into the sitting room to see Klaus feeding Caroline his blood. I smiled, relieved.

'Thank you,' I mouthed.

* * *

_**A/N: Sorry for the incredibly short chapter. I go episode by episode so I thought it was wrong if I merged two together. **_


	14. Babysitting

_Babysitting_

I pressed my ear against Caroline's phone.

"Tell me you're not serious," Caroline said.

_"I wish I weren't," _my twin replied. _"When we got back from looking for Jeremy, Shane and Bonnie were gone too. Shane needs Bonnie to cast a spell on Jeremy's tattoo in order to find the cure, and he managed to sneak them both out from under our noses."_

"Well, where's Damon in all this?" Caroline asked.

_"We had an argument. I thought he was just taking a walk, but then when we went to the beach, we saw signs of a struggle."_

"Meaning what?"

_"Meaning somebody probably jumped him and then grabbed him."_

"That Professor probably took it," I said. "I knew he was shady."

_"No - I mean - he's not strong enough to take Damon on, even with the element of surprise. He must have someone, or at least a few someones helping him."_

"It wouldn't surprise me with all of his connections," I told her. "I wish I could help."

_"Well, maybe there's something you can do from home."_

"Anything. Tell us," Caroline said.

_"So Shane's looking for the cure. We think we can find him. We have pictures of Jeremy's tattoo, but we just can't translate the map."_

"Unless you get the Hunter's Sword from Klaus," Caroline realised.

_"Exactly."_

_"He'll never give up the sword," I heard Rebekah say._

_"Yeah, but if anyone's gonna get him to give it up, it's Lucy," Stefan said._

_"He will never give up the sword, not even for Lucy," _Rebekah explained. _"He's terrified we'll use the cure against him to make him mortal, and even if he wasn't, he wouldn't want any of us to derive a moment's worth of happiness from being human."_

_"Well, maybe he doesn't have to give it up," _Stefan said. _"I mean, Klaus is stuck in Elena's house by Bonnie's spell. He can't go anywhere. There's only so many places you can hide a three-foot piece of metal."_

"We'll find it, don't worry. Just e-mail me photos of Jeremy's tattoo," Caroline said. "We'll find the sword, and I'll call you back."

_"Thank you, Caroline."_

"Bye." She hung up.

Klaus smirked. "Need my help with anything, love?" he asked us.

"Nope," I said and Caroline and I left the house to go find the sword.

* * *

After we found the sword in Klaus' attic, we went back into the house. Caroline got her laptop and had some print-outs of Jeremy's mark. Tyler held the sword.

"Well, if it isn't little orphan Lockwood," Klaus taunted. "Come to show how laughably impotent you are against me?"

"I'm just trying to help my friends find the cure," Tyler said. We sat on the couch and Tyler revealed the sword from under the blanket. "Found this in your attic."

"And you think finding the sword brings you closer to the cure?" Klaus asked.

"You tell me," he replied. "I was playing around with the handle on the ride over and I found this."

He unwrapped the leather at the top of the sword, showing Klaus how the handle turned. Klaus got up and approached Tyler.

"And what do you think 'this' is?" Klaus asked.

"It's called a cryptex," Caroline answered. "I've seen the da Vinci Code. You turn the different sides to the different symbols to get the translation on the other side. And with the magic of the internet, Elena sent over these." She held up the print-outs of Jeremy's tattoo. "So now all we have to do is cryptex away."

"We wouldn't stop you if you wanted to help," I said to Klaus.

"Right. Well, might I suggest using the magic of the internet to purchase an Aramaic-to-English dictionary from your nearest retailer," Klaus said.

"What's Armaic?" Tyler asked us.

"It's a dead language," I replied. "It hasn't been used since biblical times."

"Qetsiyah's native tongue, I'm guessing," Klaus grinned. "You know, even if you had the best dictionary in the world, it could take days to translate. Perhaps weeks. 'In bas so-teen-too ara-ma-eet.'"

"And what does that mean?" I enquired.

"If only you spoke Aramaic."

* * *

The pictures of Jeremy's tattoo and cards with the Aramaic symbols were scattered around the table. Caroline was translating it online.

"Okay, this is it. We've translated all the symbols on the tattoo," she said.

I groaned when I saw the translation. "'Passage inside... requires a young senator and a pretty flower'? Seriously?"

Klaus spoke the words that was on the sword in fluent Aramaic. "Requires a powerful witch and a hunter in full bloom," he translated.

"What are you doing?" Tyler asked, surprised that he was helping us. We all were.

"I don't need to tell you my reasons," Klaus said. "Lucy, bring my sword over here."

I picked up the sword and brought it close enough for him to read the symbols.

"'Silas rests on the far side, the means of his destruction at hand,'" Klaus read. He glanced at the computer screen behind me. "Turn the cryptex to the right." I turned it. "Stop. The top of the hilt reveals a key to a nautical map. Turn it to the left." I obliged and turned it to the left. "Now turn the other piece. There's something else."

Klaus spoke Aramaic again.

"What does that mean?" I asked. He smiled cockily. "_Klaus_."

"There's only one cure."

* * *

"Don't you dare mention anything about the cure," Caroline spat at Klaus.

He raised his hands up in defense and smirked. "I would never."

I rolled my eyes and called Rebekah. I put it on loudspeaker and placed it on the table.

_"Hello?"_

"Hey, it's Caroline. We have the translation of the tattoo. We're emailing you pictures of the map and instructions right now."

_"Got it. Thanks."_

"Actually, it was me," Klaus said. Caroline shot him a glare and I watched him warily.

_"Nik, you helped?"_

"You sound so surprised, little sister."

_"Shouldn't I be? I mean - you don't want me to be human. You don't want any of us to be human. Why would you help us find the cure?"_

"Maybe I finally realized the longer I stand in the way of what you want, the longer you'll continue to hate me. Perhaps I want my sister to finally know happiness."

_"Fool me once, shame on you; fool me a hundred times -"_

"No more fooling. No more games. I hope you get to live, and die, as you wish."

_"So do I."_

"There is one more thing, Rebekah." Tyler, Caroline and my gazes all shot up to him. "There is only one dose of the cure. You need to find it first and take it. It's the only way you'll -" Tyler rushed to end the call.

"What the hell?" Caroline exclaimed.

Klaus smirked. "If they're all turned against each other, none of them will get it."

"But we can't use it against you if there's only one dose," I said. He didn't reply. "Oh, right, the thought of anyone having happiness kills you."

I looked around me to see that Tyler and Caroline had left. I followed them out to the porch.

"We won't let him hurt you. Stefan and Elena will bring back the cure," Caroline said.

"If they get to it first! And if they don't, Klaus kills me." He began to panic. "I need to get out of town to figure out how I'm gonna stay alive -"

"Wait, hang on, okay? Gosh! Before you get all doomsday-"

Tyler looked hysterical and scared out of his mind. "He's got nothing to lose, Care. His brother's dead, his hybrids are gone. All he wants right now is blood, starting with mine."

Caroline had tears in her eyes. "I'm not going to let Klaus run you out of town again, Ty," I said and they turned to me. "I'll fix this."

I stormed back into our living room. Before we got together, I was close with Tyler. We were best friends. I went through this boyish phase when I was the ultimate tomboy and Matt, Tyler and I used to hang out a lot. Then Tyler and I started dating and I broke up with him after my parents' death, we weren't as close after that.

"You can't kill Tyler," I said firmly. "You just - you can't!"

"Not only can I, I have to. I have a reputation to uphold. Moreover, I want to."

"Why are you so sadistic?" I asked, or rather shouted.. "Tyler has done nothing wrong-"

"He stole my hybrids from me!" he bellowed.

"No." I shook my head, getting my control back. "For the hundredth time, he _freed _them. They were your slaves! And then you killed his mother. If anything, Tyler should be the one who has to forgive you, not the other way around."

"I'm sorry, love," Klaus said seethingly. "I don't remember agreeing to a fair game."

I scoffed. "This is all a game to you?"

"What else is it? You can lose and die or you can win and survive. The strongest people win, the weakest lose."

"None of us are strong, Klaus," I said. "Not really. We all have weaknesses."

"Is that so?" he asked, grinning. "Then what's mine?"

"You're afraid of being alone," I replied. The grin fell from his face. "Of being abandoned and having no one. You think that because your father never loved you, no one else will. That's why you were so desperate to break the curse and make hybrids. You wanted loyalty. But most of all, you didn't want to be alone."

He didn't respond. I never tore my eyes away from his, I didn't back down.

"The least you can do is let him live away from here," I said.

"So he gets to live a happy life after he turned all my hybrids against me, after he tried to kill me, after he made it his life's mission to find the cure so he could use it against me -"

"No, he gets to try to live a happy life after you killed his mom," I interrupted.

"You and I are alike, Lucy," he said. I raised an eyebrow. "You like being in control. You like having the power to spare and save people. You love being powerful, strong, being a witch, you've only realised it, but it's what you've always wanted."

I stepped closer to him, so we were barely inches apart. "If we are so alike, then show me your compassion," I said. "Tyler's my friend. I don't want to lose him. I've lost too many people... Show him the mercy that I would show you."

"You would show me mercy? After all I've done?"

I nodded slightly. "Yes, because I see something good in you. And anyone who has good in them deserves some mercy."

Klaus looked thoughtful. "Mercy... for Tyler. Very well. Tell him to leave town immediately." He walked to the other side of the room. "And tell him to run and hide in a place I will never find him."

I smiled. "Of course." I turned around, about to go to the porch.

"Tell him that this is the mercy I extend for your sake... that I will give him a head start before I kill him."

I scowled and stopped in my tracks. I should have expected that.

I went out to the porch. Caroline jumped up immediately. "What did he say?"

Looking to Tyler, I said, "He said he'll give you a head start before he kills you. You have to go somewhere where he won't find you." Caroline's face fell. "I'm so sorry... I'll - um - I'll leave you to say your goodbyes to each other. I am so, so sorry, Tyler."

* * *

I sat on the swing on the porch next to Caroline and held her as she sobbed. "I-I love him, Lucy. He-he's going to forget me! I told him too, but-"

"It was for the best, Care," I said. "You're immortal. You two will find a way. This isn't the last time you'll see each other."

"I hope not," she whispered. "At least he's safe... kind of."

The front door opened and Klaus came out.

"The spells worn off," I stated.

Caroline stood up. "I'm gonna get home."

I nodded and gave her a small smile. She then walked over to her house.

"I fear something awful has befallen your friend, Bonnie," he approached me and I tensed up. "Don't worry, love. You'd know I'd never hurt you."

"You've done enough," I said, standing up.

"I've done more than enough. I've shown kindness, forgiveness, pity... because of you, Lucy. It was all for you."

I didn't reply. My heart beat quickened as I stared into his eyes.

"Thank you," I finally said, almost whispering. "For letting him go."

He nodded. After a few moments of silence he said, "Your friend, Caroline, said something today." I tilted my head. "Something that made me realise how deeply I feel for you. But I know you could never love a monster."

I tightened my lips into a thin line, contemplating what to say. There was nothing I could say.

He nodded his head and made to leave. I gripped his wrist impulsively and he turned around. I was breathing heavily and I had no clue what I was doing. I crashed my lips onto his and wrapped my arms around him. _This is a mistake. This is a huge mistake. He killed Jenna. _For a split moment I allowed myself not to care - to just do what felt good. And this felt good.

I pulled away and smiled. "Night, Klaus," I whispered before running inside, shutting the door behind me.

I couldn't help the giggle that erupted out of me the moment I shut the door.

* * *

_**A/N: Reviews? Which direction should I take this story? Should Lucy go to New Orleans or stay in Mystic Falls?**_


	15. So Cold

_So Cold_

"Ugh!" Caroline exclaimed as she scrubbed the floor. "I can't get the burn mark off."

I laughed. "It's fine, Caroline."

She looked up at me suspiciously. "What's got you in such a good mood?"

"What?" I asked. "I'm not in a good m- well, I am - it's just - nothing happened. I just feel happy." I lied.

Caroline nodded, but narrowed her eyes in thought. "Mhmm." She went back to scrubbing - no, attacking - the spot where Kol had died.

I was cleaning the counter when I heard the door open. I rushed into the hall to see who it was.

Elena walked in, followed by Stefan carrying something - a body, I presumed - inside, wrapped in a blanket.

"Hey, you're home. I was trying to clean the burn mark where Kol -" Caroline started, but stopped when she saw the body. "I couldn't get the spot out."

Stefan shook his head slightly and gave me a pitiful glance. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

_No. No. No. It had to be someone else. Anyone but him._

"Come on. Let's get him upstairs," Elena called as she walked up the steps, she looked down at me. "It's okay, Lucy. He'll wake up. He's wearing his ring."

Stefan followed Elena upstairs.

I went into the kitchen, clutching my stomach. The ring didn't work on supernatural creatures... and Jeremy was one of the five. _No, no, no... Jeremy cannot be dead. He just can't! _

"Lucy..." Caroline started.

I held my hand up, gesturing for her to stop and shook my head. There were only two people in the world who I would die for, Jeremy and Elena. Elena was a vampire and although Jeremy was a hunter, he was human. And I needed that. I was closer to Jeremy than I ever was with Elena. He was my brother...

No. He wasn't dead. There had to be some way around this. There just had to be!

I sat down at the table and sat back. I felt restless, like I should be doing something. There had to be something I could do. Maybe the ring would work...

Caroline sat down in front of me. I didn't look at her.

"Lucy, I think Jeremy might be really dead," she said, unsure how to phrase it.

I shook my head. "No, no. He's not dead, Caroline. He'll wake up. He has to." I stood up. "I'm going to go check on him."

I saw Stefan on my way out. "Katherine gave him to Silas and he drained him of blood. Lucy, I'm-"

"Don't say you're sorry," I snapped. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. "Look, Jeremy's going to wake up. He can't leave me. He-he can't leave me on my own." My voice shook and tears rushed to my eyes. I blinked them away. _Not now, you have no reason to cry. Jeremy will wake up. _

He nodded. "Okay."

I smiled at him before rushing up to Jeremy's room to see Elena holding his hand as she watched him. Her head shot up as I came in.

"They think I'm crazy, that I'm in denial," she said. "But his hunter's mark is gone. His hunter's destiny was fulfilled when he woke Silas. He's not supernatural anymore."

There was a part of me telling myself that she was just feeding me false hope. But what good would it do if I didn't have hope? I needed Jer. I couldn't lose my baby brother.

"He'll wake up, he has to," I whispered.

"He will." She smiled and stood up. "I'm going to go get a drink."

I nodded and she left. I sat next to Jeremy and held his hand like Elena did.

"I hope you're on your way back to your body now," I said. "You have to be. I need you, Jer."

I started sobbing, maybe it was my witch side, but I had this feeling - like a premonition - that this was it. That he was gone. Tears began streaming down my face for the first time since my parents died. I never let myself cry. When Jenna died I was an empty shell, afraid of showing weakness in case someone exploited it. I didn't care anymore. If someone came in and shot me right then and there, I would have happily died next to my brother.

"R-remember all those times you wanted to play v-video games with me, and I said no." I smiled despite the situation. "And then you w-went down to M-mom and said I was bullying you. She f-forced me to play GTA with you. But I'd give anything for that right now. _Anything_."

"He's not dead," Elena said from the door way. "He just can't be."

I put my hand over my mouth to stop myself from breaking down completely and rushed to my room. I laid down on my bed and hugged my knees. All the times I had been mean to Jeremy plagued my mind, and the memories where we were having fun and teasing each other. I didn't know which ones were worse. The bad ones made me feel guilty, the good ones made me feel alone and depressed. I was alone. There was no one left. Elena would have to deal with Jeremy's death herself, and Stefan and Damon would help her. I was second to her in everyone's hearts. Except for Jeremy, Jenna and our parents, who loved us equally. But they were all dead.

And we didn't even have the damn cure! This was all for nothing. We slaughtered who knows how many vampires and I lost my little brother.

* * *

"I've never seen her like this," I heard Caroline say from outside my bedroom. "Usually she pretends like nothing has happened."

"Her brother's dead, Caroline," Stefan replied.

"Go and talk to her," she replied. "You two are close. She might listen to you."

My door opened and Stefan came in. Caroline gave me a small smile. I looked away from her and rested my head on my knees.

"Hey," Stefan said softly. "How are you doing?"

"I'm not in denial," I replied, but it came out muffled. I straightened up. "He's dead, Stefan. Jeremy's gone. I have no one."

"You have Elena," he assured. "You have Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, and you have me."

I nodded slightly, staring blankly at nothing. I felt empty and tired, like the life had been drained out of me. Is this what broken is? Having no hope? Having nothing left? If it is, then I was broken.

"Jeremy and I were always close," I said monotonously. "We talked to each other about almost everything. Our relationship was completely different from the one he had with Elena. We were both troubled teens who didn't know how to express their sadness or anger and lashed out because of it. He did drugs... I was a bitch. I only cried once when my parents died, when we found out. I've never allowed myself to cry because... because I'm afraid that once I start, I won't be able to stop."

Stefan sighed and sat at the end of my bed. "You're strong, Lucy. Stronger than most people I know."

My eyes welled up with tears that I swallowed back. "Then why do I feel so weak? So hopeless? There's nothing left for me here Stefan. Every - everyone I love is dead except for Elena. And she needs to grieve herself so... I'm alone in this. I have to suppress it. Maybe that will make me strong... _crying_ makes you weak." I stood up. Stefan was staring warily at me. "I don't want to be weak." I shook my head. "I have to be strong. Elena needs me... I don't have time for this."

"Lucy-" he got up and put his hands on my shoulder.

I shrugged him off. "No, Stefan! I can't think about myself right now! Bonnie... Bonnie... is she home? Is she safe? How about Damon?"

"We don't know," he said. "But don't worry, Damon's on the island looking for her. Dr. Fell's coming-"

I nodded. "She can help with the body. We need a cover story. Maybe you could bite him... or we could say he fell down the stairs? We could compel the doctors and the nurses at the hospital..."

"Lucy, stop." I paced the room, my thoughts racing. There were so many things we had to do. The funeral, the cover story... I didn't have time to grieve. "Lucy." Stefan gripped me by the arms and shook me gently. "Look at me. We can think about this later. How are you _feeling_?"

_Broken, empty, abandoned, alone. _I felt like I was about to fall apart. Like I was going insane.

"I'm fine," I lied, trying to keep any sort of emotion out of my voice. "My brother's dead and I have no one. But I'm fine. I'm used to this by now."

Stefan shook his head. "No. You don't get used to losing the people you love."

I glared at him. "You want to know how I feel?" I spat. "I feel like my whole world has just collapsed. My _brother_, the only thing I cared about, the only trace of normality in my life, is _gone_ - dead, killed by my sister's doppelganger. I'm angry, I'm sad, hollow. I don't see the point in living anymore!" I pulled away from Stefan and turned away from him. "And it's all because of her. _Katherine Pierce. _She's ruined our lives. She deserves to pay." I whipped back around to Stefan. "I will make her pay."

"This isn't you."

"Isn't it? She's the reason he's dead, Stefan. I want her dead, moreover, I want her to suffer. I want her to beg for mercy only to have it ripped away from her."

"You think that's going to bring you happiness?" Stefan asked, almost shouting. "Closure? It won't. It will only bring you guilt."

"I can assure you Stefan, I won't feel anything when I kill her."

* * *

I knelt next to Jeremy's bed and smoothed his hair. I turned my head to see Elena, staring at his body.

"Lucy? Elena?"

"Meredith? What are you doing here?" Elena asked.

"I came to check on your brother. May I?"

Elena nodded. I got up and stepped away from his body. Meredith walked over to Jer's body. "Yeah. Um..." Meredith lifted his arm. "You're not gonna find any vitals. It's the same thing that Ric used to go through. He'd just be dead until then he wasn't. Once, I remember he was gone for almost an entire day. Ric died, like, four times before he lost his mind and Jeremy has died a few times, too - three, I think - so we're gonna have to -" she paused when Stefan entered the room "-so we'll have to keep an eye on him because I don't want him to go crazy just like Ric did."

Stefan gave Meredith a small nod.

The doctor approached her. "Elena... it looks like Jeremy died of extreme blood loss. His neck also appears to be broken. The lack of blood explains why there's no lividity, but his muscles have tightened past the point of rigor mortis."

"No," Elena said.

"If he's left unattended to, soon he'll start to bloat. Within a few hours, his skin will discolor, and -"

"No. He's - Stop, okay? Just stop. He's not dead."

"I need you to release the body to me. We'll get him to a funeral home and prepare him for a viewing where you, Lucy and his friends can say goodbye to him."

Suddenly, Elena slammed Meredith against the wall.

"He's not dead, okay?"

"Elena!" I yelled.

"Elena, stop it," Stefan said, pulling her off Meredith.

She struggled against Stefan's hold. "Now you're all about science? Where was your science when you used vampire blood to save my life, huh? There is no science here. It's just magic. We need magic. Lucy, do something!" I shook my head sadly. "We have to find Bonnie. Bonnie can fix this. Somebody just get me Bonnie!""

I saw Matt enter the room. "Elena-"

She stopped struggling. Matt noticed Jeremy on his bed. His face fell.

"No. No. No, Matt. It's fine." She rushed over to him. "It's okay. It's okay." She hugged him as he teared up. "Bonnie will be here soon, and she'll fix everything, and it'll be all fine. Everything's gonna be fine. It'll be fine. It'll be fine."

There was a part of me that wanted to believe that.

* * *

Matt had left with Elena. She needed help more than me. I had something to keep me going; My hatred for Katherine and my desire to see her dead and suffering.

I watched as Meredith pulled the blanket over Jeremy's face. I bit my lip, fighting tears. She gave me a pitiful look.

"I'm so sorry, Lucy," she said. "I can't imagine how hard this is."

I nodded mutely. She couldn't, rarely anyone could. I had lost most of my family by the age of eighteen, the only surviving member being my twin sister.

If only vampires hadn't come into our town and if only my sister wasn't the doppelganger. It would have made everything so much simpler. Jenna would be alive, so would John and Alaric and _Jeremy_.

Katherine had called Jenna that night... which led to Klaus killing Jenna. And if she hadn't run away five-hundred years ago, especially since Elijah had the elixir, then Klaus wouldn't have needed Elena and wouldn't have come to our town. Alaric would be alive and Elena wouldn't be a vampire... and we would have never needed the stupid cure. We would be normal. But I'd still be a witch, so maybe normal wasn't the right word. _Safe _was.

Everything came down to her. This was all her fault.

"Damon found Bonnie," Stefan said. "There leaving the island as we speak."

I nodded, distracted as I looked at my brother's body. "Do you think I'm wrong to want to kill Katherine?"

"It's keeping you going, isn't it?" he said, standing beside me and looking at Jeremy's body as well. "You've lost everything and, while this isn't the best distraction, it's better than seeing you break. And Damon said there's something Bonnie can do."

I turned my head to look at him. "What? What is it?"

"He didn't say." Stefan smiled. "But there might be something."

* * *

We sat at the kitchen table as Bonnie explained to us the plan to save Jeremy.

"It's called an Expression triangle. I need to complete it for Silas," Bonnie said.

"What?" Matt asked in disbelief.

"I just need to kill twelve witches."

I looked at her oddly. "Bonnie... I want Jeremy back too... but you can't-you just can't!"

"Bonnie," Matt said sternly. "You can't kill twelve people."

"I know it sound crazy, but it's the only way to get enough power," Bonnie said.

"To do what?" Caroline asked.

"To drop the veil to the Other Side," Bonnie said. "Once the veil is dropped, the Other Side doesn't exist anymore. There's nothing separating us. We're all just one."

"Bonnie, you are talking like a crazy person. You are not killing twelve people and you sure as hell can't invite every monster who has ever died back into this world," Caroline said.

"Caroline, I think she knows that," Matt stated.

"I can do it. I have the power. We can bring everyone back - Jeremy. Alaric, Vicki."

I wanted Jeremy back. How could I not? But this a large price to pay and it would be selfish of me to let Bonnie bring back every dead supernatural being so that I could have my brother back.

"Bonnie, stop it. You can't just say these things," Caroline said.

The phone rang. It seemed to break Elena out of her trance.

"I'll get it."

"Elena, I'll get it-" Matt tried.

"I said I'll get it," Elena stood up and answered the phone. Damon and Stefan came inside from the porch. "Hello?"

"Elena? It's April... Young. Um, I was looking for Jeremy, his cell phone keeps going straight to voicemail."

_I wonder why that would be... _I tried to ignored the pit in my stomach.

"Jeremy can't come to the phone right now. He's not - I'm sorry. He's dead."

I guess that meant she wasn't on board with the plan either.

She left the room and went upstairs.

I stood up. "Don't make any supernatural purgatories collapse in my absence," I warned Bonnie.

I stormed out of the room. "Help her," I said to Damon as I passed by him. He nodded.

"I will."

I went up to my bedroom. Who knows how many supernatural beings had died? Dropping the veil meant an apocalypse, basically. I was sure that the majority of them harboured some thirst for revenge.

Like I did. It just kept on growing. The more I tried to suppress my grief, the more it grew.

Well, I couldn't find her by myself. Could I? And there was one other person who wanted her gone as much as I did.

I picked up my phone and called Klaus. Unlikely allegiances was the theme of the last few months, why not another one?

_"Lucy! Called to talk about the kiss?"_

"Nope," I said, sitting on my bed. "I called to talk about Katherine."

_"Is she there? Need me to dispose of your sister's conniving doppelganger?"_

"Yes, actually, but she's not here. I want her dead, Klaus."

_"Why? What has she done?"_

"She killed my brother. And I want her to suffer. You do too. I thought we could form some alliance based on our shared desire to kill Katherine."

_"Very well then. There's a werewolf in New Orleans. Word has it she helped Katerina find the cure."_

"Good. We'll start from there."

_"Are you sure you want to do this? You don't seem like the heartless killer type."_

"She killed my brother."

_"You know... someone once told me that everyone deserves mercy."_

"No. I told you that anyone any way good deserves mercy. Katherine isn't good, not at all."

_"This will ruin you. Killing her will ruin you."_

"Maybe it will. But the thing is, I'm not the same person anymore. The only thing keeping me going is the thought of her with a stake in her heart."

Klaus sighed. _"Fine."_

"Thank you," I said.

_"Goodnight, love."_

"Goodnight, Klaus."

I hung up and put the phone on my bedside locker.

* * *

_**Third Person POV**_

"Where's Bonnie?" Elena asked Bonnie.

"We told Matt to take her home. We thought it'd be best," Stefan answered.

"Get Lucy," she ordered, but nobody moved. "Fine. I'll do it myself. LUCY!" Elena called up the stairs. "Put his body on the couch," she said to Damon.

She went into the kitchen, opening and closing cabinets, searching for something.

"Elena? Elena, you need help finding something?" Caroline said, worried about her friend.

She took out a cleaning detergent and squirted it over the counter. "Got it."

Caroline stared at her in shock.

"What are you doing?" Stefan asked.

Elena continued to squirt the fluid around the house. "We need a cover story, right? You think I didn't hear you guys talking earlier? Well, what are we gonna say? Animal attack, 'tumbled down the stairs'? No. We burn the house down with him inside of it." She squirted the fluid on Jeremy.

"Elena, stop it."

"Why? Because you want me to not be in denial? You want me to face the truth? This is the truth, Stefan. I don't want to live here anymore. I don't want these sketches." She sprayed the fluid on Jeremy's sketches. "I don't want this Xbox. Not gonna need this bourbon anymore. Alaric's not here to drink it, I mean, unless you guys are willing to bring back every supernatural creature on the Other Side to get him back." She turned to Damon. "Would you? I know you want your drinking buddy back. Would you, Damon? Because I wouldn't." She splashed bourbon on Jeremy's body. "I don't know, I mean, does that make me a bad person? I- I have no idea." She pulled the ring off Jeremy's finger and tossed it to Damon. "He's not going to need that anymore."

"Elena, stop it! You're scaring me!" Caroline yelled.

She picked up a picture frame form the mantelpiece. "What else are we supposed to do with the body, Caroline? I mean, there's no - there's no room in the Gilbert family plot." She threw the frame onto the floor. "Jenna and - and John took the last spots." She threw the empty bottle of bourbon against the wall. She looked past Caroline, Stefan and Caroline to Lucy, who had a blank expression on her face. "I want this house gone. I-I know you do too. Please, Lucy, burn it."

"No, no, Elena. Stop," Stefan begged Elena before turning to Lucy. "Tell her to stop."

Lucy walked over to Elena and stood in front of her. "I want this house gone. I don't want the memories or the pain... I want to burn this house down and there's a part of me that wants to burn with it." She took a deep breath. "The supernatural is the reason most of the people we loved died - Jenna, Alaric, John... _Jeremy _- I think it's only fitting we end it like it started. With magic."

"Lucy..." Stefan started, but stopped once she shook her head. "Elena, please."

"There's nothing here for us anymore, Stefan. Every inch of this house is filled with memories of the people that we loved that have died - my mom, my dad, Jeremy, and Jenna and Alaric, John, even John. I mean, they're all dead. Everyone is dead. So what are we supposed to - I mean, how am I gonna - I can't even - There's nothing left for us!"

Elena sobbed. It looked as if she was going to break apart.

"Elena, I need you to calm down," Damon said, approached her.

"No, no, no, I can't. I can't. I can't. I-" She fell to her knees, crying. Lucy rushed beside her and pulled Elena over to her, holding her twin in her arms as she crumbled. "No. It hurts. It hurts. Just make it stop. Please make it stop. It hurts."

"I know," she whispered. "I know."

"Damon... Help her," Stefan said.

Damon crouched down next to her.

"I-I-" Elena tried, but the grief of losing so many people had caught up to her.

"I can help you. I want you to let me help you," Damon caressed her cheeks and smoothed her hair back, but Elena shuddered at his touch. "I can help you."

"How?" Elena asked.

"Turn it off."

"What? No, no," Stefan said.

He held up a hand to stop Stefan from ruining this.

"Just turn it off, and everything will go away."

"Damon, don't do this," Lucy begged. "It's all she has left."

Damon shook his head at me. "That's what you have to do. It's what I want you to do. Just turn it off."

Her tear stained face turned expressionless, like there was nothing inside of her. Lucy hated Damon for doing this to her, but it was for the best, she supposed. A part of her was envious that Elena could just end this suffering while she had to go to extreme lengths to avoid it.

* * *

I shoved some clothes, my laptop, some books and my phone into a backpack. I used a spell to send it over to the Salvatore Boarding house. I spent a lot of time over there, so Stefan gave me my own room.

"You're really going to do this," Stefan said from the threshold.

I turned around and nodded. "We need this, Stefan. This can offer some closure."

"Like killing Katherine can," he said.

"Yes," I spat. "Now, if you don't mind I have a house to burn."

I strided past him, but he gripped my wrist, not ungently, pulling me back. "You're not going to burn with with."

I sighed. "Not today." I pulled my arm from his grasp and walked into the living room.

"Are you ready?" I asked her, forgetting that she had no emotions and didn't care.

"Yes."

Damon came inside from the porch. "Lucy, don't do this. We can find another cover story."

I shook my head. "This is the best one. No one'll ask questions."

"Look, if you burn down the house, it'll be gone. What if one day when this is all over, you two want to come home again?" Stefan asked.

I looked to Elena who nodded. "We won't."

* * *

_**A/N: What do you think? Lucy's working with Klaus now to kill Katherine, and the werewolf girl... I think you all know who she is.**_

_**Your suggestions on the route I should take this story? I know this may be confusing, but I was thinking that while I write the next story (either Season Five of TVD or Season One of TO) I might write Season Three of TVD or even start with Season One? What would you guys think? It won't delay the updates too much. Your opinion?**_

_**Next chapter - No humanity Elena and Klaus sleeps with Hayley... or will he?**_

_**Review!**_


	16. Mistakes and Distractions

_Mistakes and Distractions_

Elena and I moved into the Salvatore Boarding house, though most of my time was spent at Klaus'. Katherine had found a witch to do a cloaking spell for her, making my locator spells useless.

"Who was the guy that told you about Hayley?" I asked.

"An old friend," he smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "What makes you think Hayley will tell us about Katherine?"

"I'm very skilled in the art of persuasion, Lucy," he said.

My face twisted in disgust. "You're going to _seduce _her?"

Klaus chuckled. "Why are so unable to believe that I can seduce a woman?" I didn't reply and he grinned. "Or are you jealous, Lucy?"

I scoffed. "Of course not, Klaus."

"You're feelings for me are evident, love," he said. "There was a... spark when we kissed."

"Whatever," I said, sending my eyes up to heaven.

"And my plan isn't to 'seduce' her," Klaus told me. "I plan to fatten her up and give her some wine."

"Then on a drunken whim she'll spill all of her secrets?"

He nodded. I went back to the newspaper articles. I was scouring the New Orleans papers for any sign of Katherine. Hayley was shady, like Professor Shane. She couldn't be trusted.

There was nothing in the papers. The doppelganger bitch was perfectly capable of cleaning up her mess and staying hidden. After five-hundred years of running, she had learned a few things.

"Has Hayley said anything useful in the phone calls?" I inquired.

He shook his head. "Nothing. She wants protection as when she gets that, she'll spill. But I'm working on it, love." He watched me warily as I scoured through the phone book. "What are you looking for?"

"Any sign of Katherine," I said, turning the page. There was nothing in this damn newspaper. I groaned. "There's nothing in here! No pictures, no mention of her. God, this is frustrating!"

"Relax," Klaus soothed. "I think you need to rest."

I shook my head. "No. What I need is to find Katherine."

"And you can do that once you are rested." He pulled the newspaper from me. "You can sleep in one of the spare rooms. Have your pick." I opened my mouth to argue, but before I could, he continued. "When you wake up, I'll have found her."

I groaned. "Fine, but wake me up in an hour." He nodded.

I stumbled up the stairs, more tired than I had realised. Sleeping for only five hours did that to you, I guess. Finding Katherine had become my life's mission. Every thought I had was about her, about my revenge.

The Mikaelson Manor was lavishly designed. You could tell the owners were rich by simply walking through the hall. I lay down on the bed in one of the spare rooms. Stefan was worried about me, but a no-humanity Elena came first on his list of priorities. Unlike my twin sister, I wasn't going to kill any innocent people, just Katherine, and she was hardly innocent.

Elena had taken the easy way out, thanks to Damon's sire-bond. She was more of a nuisance than I had been after Mom and Dad's deaths. I was a bitch, sure, but I never tried to kill anyone. Stefan tried to get me to talk to Elena, he said I was the only person she'd listen to, but I didn't have time for her. I had to avenge Jeremy's death.

As soon as my head hit the silk pillow, sleep came over me.

_A woman with olive skin, brown, curly hair and brown eyes stood in front of me. We were at the Salvatore Boarding house._

_"Elena?" I asked._

_The woman smirked and realisation hit me. "Guess again."_

_"Katherine," I spat._

_"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!" she mocked. "I take it you've been looking for me, little Lucy. Out for revenge? Sad that I killed your baby bwother? Likkle Wucy, so angee. I'm trembling. You can't do anything to me."_

_I grinned. "Watch me."_

_I narrowed my eyes at her and she yelled in pain. Her black, stylish attire morphed into jeans and a blue tank top. Her curly hair straightened and her cold, calculating eyes became soft, doe-eyes._

_"Lucy, please stop!" she shouted, gripping her hair with her hand. "Ahh! It's me, Lucy! Make it stop!" _

_"Oh my God," I whispered as I released her from the torture. "Elena, I'm so sorry!"_

_She stood up and the background disorted into our living room._

_"No, no, no, I can't. I can't. I can't. I-" Elena fell to her knees, crying. I rushed beside her and pulled Elena over to me holding my twin in my arms. "No. It hurts. It hurts. Just make it stop. Please make it stop. It hurts."_

_"I know," I whispered. "I know."_

_"Damon... Help her," Stefan said._

_Damon crouched down next to her. _

_"I-I-" Elena tried, but the grief of losing so many people had caught up to her._

_"I can help you. I want you to let me help you," Damon caressed her cheeks and smoothed her hair back, but Elena shuddered at his touch. "I can help you."_

_"How?" Elena asked._

_"Turn it off."_

_"What? No, no," Stefan said._

_He held up a hand to stop Stefan from ruining this._

_"Just turn it off, and everything will go away."_

_"Damon, don't do this," I begged. "It's all she has left." _

_Damon shook his head at me. "That's what you have to do. It's what I want you to do. Just turn it off."_

* * *

I woke up and checked my phone for the time. It was there o'clock. I had been asleep for seven hours. I was ready to kill Klaus... but he was invincible so a smack in the head would have to do.

I marched down to the living room. Klaus sat on the couch, brooding in a Stefan-like way while drinking some wine.

"Ah, love, you're awake." He grinned.

"No thanks to you," I spat. "What happened to 'wake you up in an hour', huh?"

He shrugged. "You needed your rest. I found Hayley."

I raised an eyebrow. "While I was sleeping?" He nodded. "Well? Where is she?"

"Asleep," he replied. "Katerina sent someone to assassinate her. She's too calculating to leave a loose end."

I nodded and sat down on the couch in front of him. "Did she say anything?"

He shook his head.

There was a knock on the living room door. It was strange... someone had barged into the house and then they decide to be polite and civilised as they came to the living room.

Klaus stood up and opened the door. Damon sauntered into the living room without invitation.

"Ah, what an unpleasant surprise," Klaus said.

He raised an eyebrow when he saw me. "Lucy?" he exclaimed. "This is where you've been running off to?"

"Why exactly are you here, Damon?" Klaus asked, diverting Damon's attention from me to him.

He held a piece of paper in his hand. "I just came up with a list." Klaus shut the door. "It's called 'Things You Suck At'." He turned to face Klaus. "Number one: Finding Katherine - ever. Number two: covering up your secret phone conversations with that little backstabber Hayley." He put the phone transcripts on the table. "Yeah, so, where is she? What does she know about Katherine?"

"I should help you?" Klaus asked angrily.

"Mhm."

"After you lot killed my brother and imprisoned me in the Gilbert living room?"

"You're helping Lucy." He gestured over to me. "Whatever you too are doing I doubt it's simply playtime. And you might want to prioritise, Klaus. You have much bigger problems. Katherine has the cure. My guess is she's gonna want to cram it down your throat. You help me find Katherine, I'll get the cure, I'll give it to Elena, everybody wins. Just let me question Hayley about Katherine."

Klaus smiled and approached Damon.

"Can't help you, mate. Hayley's off limits." He walked past Damon and sat down on the couch. "Although, I did have a run in with a vampire who may know where Katerina is. Too bad for you, I bit halfway through his bloody neck. He probably won't have much time for chit-chat."

Damon looked over to me. "And your not going to help us? This is about the cure, Lucy. I know you want it for Elena."

"I'm done with the cure," I said. "Jeremy died because of it and we've raised a psychotic immortal. The search is futile."

He groaned. "Elena has no humanity-"

"And who's fault is that?"

Damon narrowed his eyes a little. "I'll show myself out."

He stormed out of the room, upset that I hadn't jumped up to help Elena.

"So you're not helping the Scooby gang anymore?" Klaus asked, amused.

"Damon's reckless and impulsive," I said. "He acts on impulse and desire alone and because of that, he ruins things."

Klaus grinned. "I never knew you were so cunning."

I shook my head. "I'm not cunning. More like realistic. I want Katherine dead more than I want the cure, but I suppose that'll be another benefit to finding Katherine."

His grin faltered. "So you can use it on me."

I scoffed. "No, so I could give it to my sister. I think your trust issues are getting worse."

"I'm simply being prudent."

"Mhm."

* * *

_"You promised me you'd come. And Elena's even cheerleading as well! You can't miss this!"_

"Caroline, I'm busy."

_"You've been busy all week. I know it's hard, Lucy, but you have to get out there."_

I turned around and saw Hayley come into the parlor, her hair messy from her nap.

"Look, I'll be there in soon, but this is important."

_"Fine."_

I slipped my phone into my jacket pocket. "You're awake."

"Yeah," she said. "Who are you?"

"Lucy, we've met, before you, uh-"

She had the decency to look ashamed at least. "Yeah, about that, can you tell Ty I'm sorry? I only did it to find my birth parents."

I approached her, my temper flaring. "Usually when someone wants to find their real parents, they look into a few adoption agencies, not kill twelve freaking hybrids."

"Are you sure you want to threaten me?" Hayley asked, bearing her teeth like an animal. "You're a _human_, I'm a werewolf, this won't pan out well."

I smiled cynically. "Actually, I'm a _witch_, you're a werewolf, this really won't pan out well." She stepped back a bit. "But that's in the past and we need some information from you."

"Ah, you want to know about Katherine," she said.

I nodded. "I want to kill her. That way you're safe and I get my revenge."

"Revenge for what?"

"She killed my brother," I told her, still seething.

"I'm sorry," she said. "That must be horrible."

I laughed. "But he was actually my cousin... my family's crazy. I grew up thinking he was my brother - _is _my brother. Katherine gave him to this immortal who drained him of blood."

"So you're adopted?"

"My adoptive uncle is my dad," I said. "My mom was a vampire, after she gave birth - of course - vampires can't procreate. I was raised by my real dad's brother and his wife, who were vampire hunters and who died. And then my birth parents died."

"Ah..." she nodded, eyeing my warily. "I'm... sorry?"

I even freaked out the werewolf who willingly sent twelve hybrids to the slaughter.

Klaus walked into the room, smiling widely and... creepily. "Dinner's ready."

Of course, he didn't make the dinner. He compelled a chef to make it and a couple of women to set the table. Since it would be horrible if the Original Hybrid had to life a finger.

Hayley nodded mutely and passed by him on her way to the dining room.

"Coming, love?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I'll be back later, Caroline wants me to go to some cheerleading event."

"You didn't strike me as a cheerleader."

"I'm not," I said, laughing slightly at the thought. "I'm just obliged to go to events like this. Or else she'll kill me."

Klaus chuckled. "Don't be long. I don't want to repeat all of my findings."

I nodded and slung my bag over my shoulder. "Don't worry, I won't."

* * *

"Shouldn't you be out there with them?" Stefan teased as we watched the girls get into their positions.

"Me? A cheerleader?" I laughed. "God, no, Stefan. Where'd you get that idea?"

"You're the cheerleader type," he said.

I looked over to him. His gaze met mine and we bursted out laughing.

He sobered up before me. "What have you been doing these days?"

"Nothing to do with ending the world," I said. "At least not directly."

"Ha, ha," Stefan deadpanned. "You know, for normal teenagers that would be acceptable sarcasm, but I'm a one hundred and sixty year old vampire and you're a witch, we're not normal. So, I'll ask again: What have you been doing?"

I shrugged. "Nothing. Just hanging around."

"You've missed school everyday this week, you're rarely ever at the house - where you live now, since you burned your own down - and I haven't seen you grieve since right after you found out Jeremy was dead. What's up, Lucy?"

"I've found something to preoccupy myself," I said.

"Like killing Katherine?" I glanced over to him. "I was there when you decided it was your life goal to kill her."

"It's helping me," I told him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for your very own Lady Timberwolves!" the announcer proclaimed. The crowd clapped and cheered.

He shook his head. "No, it's distracting you. There's a different."

"Can we just watch the cheerleaders?" I snapped.

""Ready!" Caroline started. The team began jumping around and doing amazing moves. "L-O-L, O-M-G, you're looking at Mystic Falls Varsity! B-E-A-T, beat those Cats."

Elena and two other girls tossed Caroline into the air. As she came down, Caroline backed away and let Caroline fall. The crowd gasped. No humanity Elena really was a bitch. I had been avoiding her since that night, so I had only gotten a glimpse of how bad she had gotten.

Said vampire looked over to me and Stefan, as if daring for us to react. I kept my face stony and cold as she left the hall, her expression blank.

"You should talk to her," Stefan said. "You're her sister, she might listen to you."

"I'm going to help Caroline."

* * *

"Why is she acting like this?" Caroline ranted as she paced the length of her bedroom. "I mean - I'm her _best friend_. What's next? She tries to kill _you_?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. She's flipped the switch. She doesn't care about anything."

"_God_!" Caroline exclaimed. "I even prefer evil-Stefan to evil-Elena."

"Me too," I said. "She'll turn it on. I'll make her if I have to."

Caroline nodded and checked her phone. Her eyes popped out of her head as she read the text. She rushed over and showed me the text.

_Elena: Party at the Boarding House:) xoxo_

I gaped. "A party? Seriously?"

"We have to go," Caroline said, edging for the door. "Elena needs babysitting... or vamp-sitting."

I stood up. "I have to - uh - be somewhere."

Caroline whipped around to face me. "What's up with you? You're never around... you've been skipping school-"

"I need to do some things, Care," I said. "That's all I can tell you."

"_Fine_," she spat. "But get over when you can."

I nodded. "I will."

* * *

I shut the door of the parlor. Klaus sat on the couch, drinking some wine.

"How did your day go?" I asked, plopping down on the couch in front of him. "Get her to spill any secrets with your amazing seduction?"

He laughed. "No. No seduction was needed. Katherine lied to her, said that she'd tell her about her family, Hayley told her about the cure... that's it really. And she told me the names of some of Katherine's helpers. Turns out I know some of them."

I smiled. "So we're getting somewhere."

He smiled back and got up. "Indeed we are." He moved over to the stereo and turned it on, a soft, romantic song came on. He offered me his hand. "Care to dance?"

"I can't dance."

"I'll teach you." His smile widened and his dipples showed. I gripped his hand and he pulled me up.

I honestly couldn't dance. His hand rested on the small of my back as the other held my hand. He led me around the room. I got used to the rhythm we were going in and, fortunately, didn't step on his toes.

I didn't look at him, but rather past him. The room spun as he twirled me around, ending in a dip that forced me to look up at him. He grinned.

"You're not too bad, love," he commented.

He brought me back up. I rested my chin on his shoulder. This was romantic and I... I liked it. Nobody had ever done this with me before. I had boyfriends in the past, and I had been the recipient of some guys' affections, but none of them had ever went to these lengths to romance me.

All the bad things he had done just washed away as we swayed to the music. I could beat myself up about this later, but maybe it was time I did something for myself. Time I gave into my urges.

"Thank you, for everything," I said. "I needed it. It's helped... you've helped. Even without knowing it. I'm sorry about your brother. Maybe he wasn't such a bad person."

"You only saw the impulsive, cruel vampire who tortured humans," he replied. "Not the brother I used to know."

"Were you different, back then?" I asked.

"I suppose," he responded. "A thousand years changes a person."

I pulled back and gazed into his eyes, feeling his warm breath against my cheek. We stopped dancing. He wasn't born this way. His father tortured him and aimed to kill him for a thousand years because of his mother's indiscretions. He had done unspeakable things, but so had Damon, so had Stefan and Caroline. Even I had done bad things.

_How about I add one more to the list._

I smashed my lips onto his hungrily, grinning as I did. He kissed back and our tongues battled for dominance. We broke apart and pulled his shirt over his head. Klaus smirked and grabbed my thighs, pressing me to him. He speeded us to his bedroom. He slammed me against the wardrobe and kissed my neck. I took off my top, revealing a black bra. I turned to kiss him again and he planted me on the silk bed. The duvet was soft and gentle against my bare skin.

I unbuckled his trousers, only to be pressed back onto the bed. His roughness aroused me, for some reason. I liked this... it was dangerous and exciting.

He bit into my neck. I had been fed from a handful of times, once by Damon before I had discovered my powers and a couple of times when Stefan or Caroline needed blood. Never had it felt this _good_. I moaned underneath him.

I was actually going to do this.

And I didn't regret it.

* * *

A couple hours later I woke up beside Klaus. My eyes popped out of their sockets when they saw him beside me, both of us were naked, our clothes at the end of the bed. I calmed down quickly, surprising due to the circumstances. My bra was reachable, at the end of the bed. I grabbed it and flung my legs over the bed.

I strapped on my bra, trying to be as quiet as possible. I really did not want to talk to Klaus right now.

Oh, how Caroline would love to hear about this. She'd have one of her big 'OMG' moments, and then she'd ask for the details after a light scolding. I imagined Bonnie with a scowl on her face, shaking her head at my stupidity. Elena would do something similiar, but she'd be much louder as she scolded me for sleeping with the enemy. Elena with her humanity on, that is. No humanity Elena would have a field day. Stefan would be shocked, and maybe a little appalled, but he'd forgive me. We were best friends, maybe we were even closer than I was with Caroline.

"Running away, love?" he asked.

I looked over my shoulder. "Not running... sneaking away, perhaps."

He chuckled and traced his fingers along my arm, from my shoulder to my wrist. "You were amazing, breath-taking, actually. Again, sometime?"

I gulped. "Maybe," I breathed. "But now I have to go stop my sister from killing everyone at this party she's throwing."

I slipped on my trouser and pulled my t-shirt over my head.

"She's throwing a party, so soon after her brother's death?" Klaus inquired.

"Yup," I answered, smoothing my hair so I didn't look like I came out of a bush. "Her humanity switch is turned off."

"I suspected as much," he said. I glanced over to him. He was sitting up in the bed, showing off his bare chest almost proudly. He smirked when he saw my eyes linger on him. "You're welcome to continue your previous activities." I rolled my eyes and grabbed the handle. "No goodbye kiss?"

I marched out of the room and made it to the foyer. The Salvatore Boarding house wasn't too far away. And since everyone was there, no one would notice me sneaking out of Klaus'. I got into my car and drove away from the mansion.

* * *

"Where have you been?" Caroline asked. "_Hello_! It's five hours later!"

I felt my cheeks redden and I prayed that I wasn't blushing. "I was - uh - I was somewhere doing someone - eh - some_thing_. Doing something."

Caroline raised an eyebrow, amused. Stefan was smirking. "Explains the hair," he said.

I smacked his arm. "Shut up," I muttered.

"So, who's the guy?" Caroline pressed, grinning.

I glanced pointedly at Stefan. "_Ahem_! We're not talking about this while _he's _here!"

He handed me a drink. "Relax. Just treat me like one of the 'girls,'" Stefan said.

"Oh, please," I scoffed.

"Well, at least your not sexually frustrated anymore," Stefan noted. Caroline's eyes widened. "Oh, you didn't know? Lucy's been frustrated for months-" I smacked him at the back of the head. "-Maybe years-" he continued as I tackled him, grinning. "-She hasn't gotten some in a while."

"Why are you so annoying?" I groaned as I let him go, losing the battle.

"Oh, you mean like you were when you found out about me and Rebekah?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "Don't take friend-tips from me!"

We all laughed. Maybe this party would be fun. Caroline's face fell as she noticed something behind me. I turned to see Elena had slammed the sheriff against the wall.

Caroline speeded over to them and pushed Elena away. "Mom!"

"I'm fine."

Stefan and I made our way over to them. The younger Salvatore restrained Caroline as she went to attack Elena.

"Caroline, calm down."

Caroline struggled against Stefan. "Calm down? I'm gonna wring her skinny little neck!"

Elena super-speeded out of the house before she could pay for her actions.

* * *

We searched the woods for Elena.

"Elena! Where the hell is she?" Caroline asked.

"Right where she wants to be," Stefan answered. "This is completely calculated. She drew all those people to the house, waited for an opportunity to distract us, and now she's free."

"I can't believe she's doing this. I mean, she hurt my mom, Stefan," Caroline said."

"All right, listen. You two search the woods, I'll check the road. If you see her, don't hesitate. Just snap her neck, got it? Or do whatever you can to knock her out."

"I can snap necks," I protected.

Stefan rolled his eyes. "Do we have to discuss this now?"

"No. Sorry," I said, shaking my head. "We'll find her."

"Okay."

* * *

Caroline and I decided to split up. I heard them talking - her and Elena.

I saw Elena gripping Caroline by the neck and headputting her.

"Oh, just stop! God. This isn't you, and you know it! You hurt my mom, Elena. How far are you gonna take this?"

"Are you trying to make me feel bad for hurting your mom? Don't you get it? I don't care. I mean, maybe you should try to turn it all off. Who knows? You might stop whining about how Tyler left you."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

Caroline tried to punch Elena. Elena would try to punch Caroline and Caroline would dodge her, and that how it worked.

Elena held Caroline's fist. "You fight like a girl."

I rushed over to them and thrusted my arm out as Elena was about to stab Caroline in the stomach with a branch. Elena fell back to the tree.

"Lucy?" she groaned. "Come to join the fun."

I approached her, still holding my hand out. I balled it into a fist and Elena cried in pain, clutching her head.

"Stop, Lucy!" Elena begged. "Please! It hurts! It's me, it's Elena, it's your sister! _Please_!"

Giving in, I put my hand to the side. Elena shot me a grateful smile. "Thank you."

Was her humanity back on?

She picked up the branch and super-speeded in front of me. She impaled me in the shoulder with the branch. I gasped in pain and shock.

No, it wasn't.

Elena pulled the branch out of my shoulder and speeded over to Caroline, who's mouth was wide opened. She thrusted the branch into her stomach and she fell to the ground, as I had. Elena broke Caroline arm. She was about to stake her through her back when Damon swooped in and restrained her.

I laid on the ground in the fetal position, bleeding out.

Stefan rushed over and kneeled next to me. He bit into his wrist and fed me some of his blood. "You're alright. You're okay," he whispered.

"She was going to kill me," I said, still astonished that my sister - my _twin _- would try to murder me.

"She's not herself," Stefan replied. "Her humanity's gone."

I nodded. "Help Caroline."

The last thing I saw was Stefan's face before I drifted into a deep sleep.

* * *

As I came back into consciousness, I heard Stefan's voice.

"Where the hell are you?... Well, we got a little problem. You said blood was stolen from Grove Hills Hospital? The sheriff said there's been reports of six other blood bank thefts all within thirty miles of Mystic Falls. Somebody's stockpiling blood. It wasn't Elena, and it's not us... I think Silas followed us back from that island. He hasn't fed in two thousand years, so he would need to gorge on blood. It explains the thefts."

That was the last of the conversation I heard. He was talking to Damon, I presumed.

I fluttered my eyes open, blinded by the dim light. I was on the couch in the living room. I sat up on the couch. Stefan was watching me cautiously, as if I was about to break a leg while moving said limb.

"You're awake," he observed.

I rubbed my forehead. "How long was I out?"

"Only an hour," he said. "Elena... she - uh -"

"Tried to kill me? I remember."

Stefan shook his head slightly. "I don't think she was. She went for your shoulder, not your heart. And she could have just snapped your neck. I think she was just trying to cause you pain and convince us she's beyond saving, but this shows she still has some humanity. She can still be saved."

"Because she let her sister - her only remaining relative - live?" I scoffed. "She'll turn it on when she wants to turn it on and not before What does she have to come back to anyway?"

"You."

"_Me_? She'd choose you and Damon over me any day."

"You really think that?" he asked. "That Elena, in her right mind, would choose me and Damon over you? You might not have been paying attention, Lucy, but Elena would do anything for you... just like she would have done anything for Jeremy."

I got up. "No. You're the one who hasn't been paying attention, Stefan. Her life revolves around this 'thing' she has with you and Damon. It ruined her and it's going to ruin you if you don't back out of it."

Stefan stood up. "Who said I'm still in it?"

"You're still looking for the cure, Stefan. If that doesn't say 'I want my girl back' I don't know what does."

"Maybe I still feel something for her," Stefan admitted. _Like we didn't know. _"And she's destroying herself like this. When she turns it back on... all the guilt will tear her apart."

I didn't know why it hurt when he said he felt something for her. I didn't know why there was a sharp pang of jealousy in my abdomen. Stefan loved Elena... and I knew that, but hearing it out loud, it brought up feelings I wanted to keep buried.

"Your nose twitched," Stefan noticed, frowning. "Your nose only twitches when your angry... or hurt."

My hand went to cover my nose instinctively. "It does not."

He laughed. "Believe me, I'm your best friend, I notice these things."

"I notice things about you too." I smiled. "Your brow creases when your brooding... which is often, might I add." Stefan smiled. "When you're being sarcastic, you lift your eyebrows."

Stefan was surprised. "I do?"

I nodded. "Mhm."

"So, I suppose we're both masterminds when it comes to each other facial expressions," Stefan joked.

I chuckled, as did he, but the mood sobered quickly. "How can you still love her? After everything? She fell in love with your _brother_ and slept with him. You don't get over something like that overnight."

"I suppose I can relate," he said. I shot him a questioning look. He laughed it off. "What? I've been around for over a hundred years, you don't think I haven't slept with a pair of siblings?"

I smacked his arm. "Sleaze."

He rubbed his arm and pretended to be hurt. "Ow... Can you stop doing that?" he mocked. "It hurts."

"Shut up," I said playfully. "Or I'll give you something that'll really hurt."

He grinned. "I heard you had become quite the super-witch."

"Not Bonnie-standards yet, but I'm getting there."

Stefan nodded. "Good. You were starting to become a damsel. Like today... beaten by your baby vampire little sister."

"She manipulated me," I said defensively, but smiling nonetheless.

His grin faltered and was replaced by his brooding face, his brow creased in thought.

"What's up?"

He shook his head, as if getting out of a trance. "Nothing. It's just, after Elena impaled you with the stick, I didn't see... nevermind, it's probably nothing."

I cocked an eyebrow suspiciously. "Right... well, I'm going to bed."

"Night."

* * *

_**A/N: So... Klaus didn't sleep with Hayley. I hope it didn't seem OOC of Lucy to sleep with Klaus. She's kind of going through a dark phase right now so she's not exactly herself. She clings onto anything that can distract her from her brother's death.**_

_**Reviews?**_


	17. Kill by the Dozen

_Kill by the D__ozen_

How could I have been so _stupid_? I mean - I didn't do that sort of thing. I didn't sleep with sociopaths! Especially sociopaths who terrorised everyone I loved _and _killed my aunt. _Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!_

I tossed the trash from the party into the bin. I never cleaned, only when I was stressing, which I was most certainly doing.

The house was still a mess from the party. Elena hadn't come back to tidy up, since she didn't give a shit anymore. I really hated no humanity Elena.

I found a cup with some booze in it and downed it. I threw it into the bin.

"Desperate times, I take it."

Why do people have to talk to you at the times you _really _do not want to talk to them?

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Not judging you, for starters, although if you are determined to get drunk, then perhaps I might recommend something a little more sanitary?"

I glared at him and drained another cup of it's alcohol before throwing it into the bin like a defiant child.

"Well, then. You showed me."

"Seriously, why are you here?" I said, continuing to tidy up.

"Are you not pleased to see me?" I could practically hear the smirk in Klaus' voice. "You were more than pleased yesterday. If I do remember correctly, we-"

I whipped around. "Shh! I don't particularly want the whole world know that we-" I lowered my voice. "You know."

I went back to trash collecting. "I know what?"

"You really want me to say it?" I didn't look at him and he didn't reply. "Well, too bad because I'm _not_."

"You can't say you didn't enjoy it."

I dared myself to look at his grinning face. "I didn't say I didn't-" his grin widened. "That's what you wanted to hear me say, wasn't it?" He laughed. "You've got my confession... now if you don't mind, I'd like to go back to spiraling, so _go away_!"

My gaze went from him to Stefan as said Salvatore walked into the room.

"Actually, I asked him to be here. We need his help. I think Silas is in Mystic Falls."

* * *

Klaus poured himself a drink. "So some blood went missing from a few hospitals. What about Elena? Don't vampires with their humanity off tend to overindulge in human blood, or were you the exception?"

"It's not Elena," Stefan answered.

"Well, let's say for a moment that it was Silas. I'm struggling to see how this affects me."

"Look. Silas wants to die and be reunited with his one true love, but he's supernatural, so if he takes the cure and dies, he gets stuck on the Other Side," he said.

"How Shakepearian," Klaus quipped.

"But if he destroys the Other Side altogether," Stefan started, "he can take the cure, die, and pass on, but - in destroying it - every dead supernatural being will return to our side."

"Which means every supernatural creature - every witch, werewolf, vampire and hybrid - will come back to life, with a burning desire for revenge. I wonder how many supernaturals you've killed... Care yet?" I said.

Klaus smiled. "My interest is piqued. How do we stop him?"

"Bonnie said Silas needs to complete three massacres to do this spell. Before Professor Shane died, he convinced the pastor to blow up the council. Next, he had you kill your hybrids, and now he only needs one more massacre, so if he's here, that's what he's doing. We need to find him."

* * *

We went into Shane's office and began rooting through his stuff.

"What are we even looking for?" I asked Stefan, closing the door behind me.

"Well, if Shane really was working with Silas, chances are he was helping him plan his next move," he answered.

"Well then, where do we find his evil villain to-do list? 'Steal blood, perform three massacres, pick up dry cleaning'?"

Klaus grinned. "Actually, not to nit-pick, but we evil villains usually use minions to pick up our dry cleaning, that sort of thing."

I groaned and turned to Stefan. "Why is he necessary again?"

"Well, we don't know what Silas can do, so if we do have to go head to head with him, an Original hybrid who can't die might come in handy," Stefan said.

I went back to searching through the bookshelf. "Besides, Stefan and I work well together, or at least we did in the twenties."

"Well, granted my emotions were off."

"And that's why you were more fun, just as Damon is probably relishing in Elena's emotionless company in New York."

"My brother knows what he's doing."

I found a book called 'Symbolic Figures in the Dark Arts' and looked through it. There was a page on Expression triangles.

"Does he? Don't underestimate the allure of darkness, Stefan. Even the purest hearts are drawn to it," Klaus said.

He couldn't have been talking about us, could he? I looked up, affected by his words. I accidently shut the book.

Stefan laughed him off.

"Still, I'm sure it'll all be fine," Klaus said.

I shook my head and took a deep breath. "I-I think I found something." I carried the heavy book over to the desk. "'Symbolic Figures in the Dark Arts.' Bonnie said something about completely the 'expression triangle.'" I flipped through the pages. "Here."

I pointed at the large, detailed drawing of a triangle.

"'In some schools of magic such as Expression, human sacrifice can be used as a focus for power. It is rumored that the addition of two supernatural sacrifices compounds the mystical energy, creating an Expression Triangle.'"

"Humans: the council fire," I said, pointing to the symbol. "Demons: Klaus' ruthless slaughter of his hybrid failures."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a failure. What's the third?"

Realisation hit me as I looked at the third symbol. "Oh no."

* * *

"There's been two massacres. Pastor Young's farm is here, and the old Lockwood cellar, where you spitefully slaughtered twelve of your own hybrids, is here." I drew a line with a ruler and pen to connect the two locations. "According to the book, the Expression Triangle is equilateral, putting it here."

I drew another line, forming an equilateral triange on the map.

"Somebody's been skipping their geometry classes." I rolled my eyes and frowned as Klaus took the ruler and pen. "There are actually two places where the third massacre could be." He drew two more lines, forming a triange opposite to mine.

I smiled. "Well, you didn't let me finish."

He grinned and we had a... uh... 'moment', I suppose. It was a really inconvenient time to be gazing into the big bad hybrid's eyes like a lovesick puppy (no pun intended), and I was brought back to reality when the door opened.

I whipped around. It was Stefan. "Hey. Did you find Bonnie?"

"No, but I talked to her dad. I think I found Silas."

* * *

"You know, when we split up you did have the option of going with Stefan," Klaus said as we walked through the woods.

"Yeah? And what? Leave Bonnie's life in your murderous hands? No chance. Do you even know how to read a map?" I asked.

"Yes, and do you know who taught me? My friend Magellan." He put his phone in his pocket.

"You had a _friend_?" I exclaimed sarcastically.. "Was he drawn to your darkness too?"

"Actually, I was referring to Damon and Elena when I said that, but clearly it struck a chord with you," Klaus said.

"It's not true, Klaus," I replied. "There is no allure to darkness."

Klaus stopped in his tracks and whipped around. "Really? So you've never felt the attraction that comes when someone who's capable of doing terrible things for some reason cares only about you? Oh, of course you have." Klaus smirked. "That's why you slept with me."

I scoffed. "You're acting like a teenager, Klaus. Is sex just some tool to hold against someone to you? To tease them about it? Maybe there is an allure to the darkness... maybe I felt it." I laughed derisively. "But God was I stupid. I guess people who do terrible things are just terrible people."

Klaus' face was expressionless, but his eyes... they were hurt. I felt bad immediately, but I wasn't going to be treated as an object.

"We're here, although judging by the lack of witches, here is not the correct location."

* * *

We got to the other location as quick as we could. Stefan had super-speeded into a tree to avoid the witches. They were chanting in Latin.

"They're linked. Bonnie's gonna kill them," Stefan said.

"Not if the witches kill her first," Klaus replied, slamming Stefan against the tree.

My gaze diverted from Bonnie, who was screaming in pain, to Klaus and Stefan and back.

"We have to save her," I stated. "Klaus!"

"How? The only way to stop the witches is to kill them, and then Silas gets what he wants," Klaus growled.

"Spirits, take her soul. Free her from darkness."

One of the witches held the dagger over Bonnie's chest. I couldn't let Bonnie die. I forgot all about the triangle and Silas and focused on the most important thing. _Saving Bonnie. _There was only one way to save her.

I thrusted my hand into the air. "_Motus_."

The dagger that the witch held over Bonnie flew into the witch's heart.

"NO!" Klaus yelled.

I rushed over to Bonnie, but stopped as the witch's dropped dead. The flames in the torches burned out. I killed them. I killed my own kind. I killed twelve witches. Oh my God. Oh my God.

Then I remembered why I did it. Bonnie.

"Bonnie. Bonnie!" I said.

I gripped her shoulders and shook her slightly. She opened her eyes. They were white, no pupil or iris.

She gave a creepy smile. "The triangle is complete."

* * *

Klaus shoved the shovel into the ground. I watched from a distance. I killed them, all off them. I was just as bad of a monster as Damon... or _Klaus_! I mean - this wasn't me! But I had to save Bonnie. I couldn't lose anyone else.

"There. Twelve graves for twelve witches. Like it never happened." He rolled down his sleeves. "Only it did happen, and now Silas has everything he needs to open the gates to hell on earth."

"You were going to let Bonnie die," I said. "I couldn't let her die."

He walked up to where I was sitting. "I know arithmetic isn't your strong point, but one is still less than twelve."

I stood up. "Yeah, but that 'one' is my best friend. I couldn't let my best friend _die_!"

"You tell yourself whatever you need to so you can sleep at night."

Then it all came crashing down on me again. "I just killed twelve people. Twelve _witches_! There all dead! All because of me."

"Hey." Klaus placed his hands on my arms. "Hey. You look like you're in need of comfort." I nodded slightly. "Why don't you find someone less terrible you can relate to?"

Using my own words against me. I guess I shouldn't have expected any less from him.

I took a deep breath and left, not looking back.

* * *

My first kill came in a dozen. Well, it wasn't really my first kill. My first _innocent _kill, really. I killed Alaric once, but that was because he was dying and I was the only sure supernatural creature around, and he came back. These witches could come back too.

I brought my knees up to my chest. I had just played my part in the end of the world. Bonnie's crooked, eerie smile was like a picture in my mind. _'The triangle is complete." _This Bonnie wasn't the Bonnie I knew. The Bonnie I knew would never create hell on earth to get her Grams and Jeremy back.

The temptation of getting Jeremy and Alaric back taunted me. Was I being selfish? I knew they would want to come back.

No. Selfish was putting the whole world in danger so I could get what I wanted - my family back.

Those people had been innocent. They were only doing what they viewed as the right thing: freeing Bonnie from the darkness. A witch's duty was to protect nature and the innocent. Expression went against all of it.

I never talked to the spirits. I practiced traditional magic. Though I was curious as to why I was a witch and Elena wasn't, my fear of the spirits was so intense that I never wanted to talk to them, to have anything to do with them. Traditional magic meant I had to work harder, and I did.

The door creeked open. I didn't look up to see who it was.

"Hey." It was Stefan. Stefan was the few people who would come to check on how I was, other than Caroline, Bonnie and Elena, but two of those were currently out of order. "How are you doing?"

"Am I a bad person?" I asked him. "Was it bad that I killed those witches to save Bonnie?"

He sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "No. I don't think it was. You saved Bonnie, you'll always save the ones you love before the ones you don't know."

"I finished the triangle, Stefan! I put us all at risk!"

He took my hand in his. "And we'll sort it out," he said soothingly. "We always do."

I nodded weakly and let out a small laugh. "It's amazing how many cobwebs we've gotten out of. We must have nine lives."

"Hey, but we're not Katherine Pierce just yet," he joked and I chuckled. He sobered up quickly. "Your revenge craze, is it... over?"

I shook my head. "Not just yet. I still want her dead, but this Silas business is more important."

"At least you have your priorities straight," he said, standing up. "For what it's worth, you're probably the least bad person around here."

I smiled at him. "Thank you."

He nodded and smiled back, before leaving.

* * *

_**A/N: Thank you to anyone who has reviewed, followed or favourited this story. It means so much!**_

_**Suggestions? Thoughts? What do you think of her friendship with Stefan? Should it evolve into something more?**_

_**Review!**_


	18. A Taste of Revenge

_A Taste of Revenge_

"I got your messages. This better be life or death!" I called.

"Go away," I heard Klaus said gruffly.

"Klaus? Where are you?" I shouted.

"I need more time. Stop hounding me!" Klaus yelled.

I raised an eyebrow. "Stop hounding _you_? I'm supposed to be getting my revenge on Katherine right now in Pennsylvania. So make it quick."

"Lucy? Is it really you?"

"Do I have an identical, evil twin sister or something?" I paused, remembering new Elena. "Wait... don't answer that."

"Prove it to me," Klaus said. "Prove that you're you."

"Eh..." I stammered, stepping backwards. "Okay... I'm gonna go to Pennsylvania now..." I edged for the door.

"Wait, please. Silas. He stabbed me with the white oak stake." I turned around. "There's a-a piece of it stuck inside me."

"Why would Silas attack you?" I asked.

"Well, I was in no position to ask questions. Suffice to say, I'm hurt. So you can understand why I called you."

"You called _me_? _Me_? To save your life?" I laughed and wiped a tear out my eye. "You killed my aunt, ran Tyler out of town, killed Mrs. Lockwood, tried to kill practically all of my family and friends numerous times and you expect _me_ to help _you_?"

"If I die, your sister, Stefan and all of your friends die with me," he said.

_Oh yeah. Crap._

"Fine," I said. "What do I have to do?"

"Well, it's quite simple, really. I need you to cut the stake out of me."

I followed his gaze to the pair of pliers, covered in blood. I picked them up and plunged it into his back.

"Ah!" he groaned. "Could you be little gentler?"

"Eh, no," I said.

I attempted to dig out the stake. He dies, everyone I know dies. Great, I mean, this was such an enviable position to be in. I was enjoying this, more than I ought to be. He gripped onto the piano.

I felt the pliers touch something. "Oh my God." Klaus' head snapped up. "You have a heart."

He yelled in pain and gritted his teeth as I moved the pliers inside him.

"Oh, wait," I said. "Just a bloody rib."

"Well, I'm glad you're finding my misery so amusing," Klaus spat.

I rolled my eyes. "As much fun as this is, I'd much rather be breaking every bone in Katherine's body right now."

"You killed twelve witches for your friend Bonnie. You can't even get your hands a little dirty for me. Here I thought we were becoming friends," Klaus said.

"Maybe someday," I replied derisively. "You know, when hell freezes over."

I dug a little deeper into Klaus' back. He yelled in pain again and slammed his hand on the piano top.

"Relax!" I said. "Relax."

"I'm sorry, but I believe I'm the one having a sadistic and scorned woman torture me from the inside!" he snapped through gritted teeth.

I laughed, but it came out harsh and cruel. "Oh, so _I'm _the sadistic one?" I took out the pliers and placed them on the floor. My skin brushed off his briefly, but it was enough to give me a vision. I hadn't had one of them in ages.

It was Shane - or Silas - he plunged the stake into Klaus' back, but then the scene repeated itself and the stake wasn't even there, nor was Silas.

I got an idea. Silas was powerful, but _how _powerful? Powerful enough to take down an Original like Klaus?

"What are you doing?" he asked.

I shrugged. "There's nothing in there. Nothing I can find, anyway."

He groaned in anguish. "Can't you do some magic to get it out?"

"Yes, but I like to see you in pain."

"Look, if this about me offending you, then I'm sorry! Alright, I'm sorry! Just get this bloody stake out!"

"All in good time," I smirked.

"What do you want me to say?" he inquired. "I said I'm sorry! What more could you possibly want? A written apology? Roses and a card? I'll give you anything you want."

I wanted to rile him up to get his mind off it. It was the only thing that could possibly work.

"I want Tyler back."

"_Tyler_?" he exclaimed. "As in Tyler Lockwood?" I nodded. "I didn't know you cared for him."

"Not really, but he is my friend. And Caroline's heartbroken without him, so I thought, why not use this leverage to get you to let him come back."

"He tried to kill me!" Klaus yelled.

"I've tried to kill you, Stefan's tried to kill you, you've tried to kill us. We get over it. You should too."

"I sired him, he wasn't-"

"Suppose to free himself from eternal hybrid slavery?" I scoffed. "Wow. You're really anti-Abraham."

He shuddered in pain. "I can feel it moving towards my heart. Help me!"

"Nope. I think I'll leave you to figure this out by yourself."

"Don't turn your back on me!"

"I should have turned my back on you ages ago!" I shouted. His mouth closed and it seemed like he wasn't in pain anymore. "Is it still there?"

"What?" he asked.

I groaned. One more option, that I didn't like. At all. But I had to find a way out of this in case he did this to another one of us.

I bit my lip, still trying to think of something else I could do. Anything else. Other than killing myself, this was the best shot.

Klaus raised an eyebrow and I exhaled dramatically. "This better work," I muttered.

I strided over to him and pressed my lips to his. It wasn't the most horrible thing... it was kinda enjoyable. There was a spark there, one I would ignore desperately.

I pulled away, only to see Klaus' smirking face. "I know you were just dying to-" His eyebrows rose in realisation. "It's gone. The pain." He put his hand behind his book and touched his wound. "It was-it was never there. Silas got inside my head." He took my hand in his. "You knew. You knew and you brought me back, Lucy."

"It was a hunch," I said. "If Silas can make you - the Original Hybrid - believe that you're dying... the rest of us... we're screwed."

Klaus smiled. "I'm still shocked that you cared about me enough to go to such extreme lengths to save me."

I rolled my eyes. "I was testing Silas' power."

"Sure."

I smiled slightly. "Well, I have to go and kill my twin sister's evil doppelganger." I grabbed my bag.

"Hey. Thank you for helping me."

"Yeah..." I paused. "If you need anything else... do _not _call me. I have a doppelganger to kill."

I turned and walked away.

"Friends, then?"

I stopped and turned back around. Klaus was smiling.

"Something like that."

* * *

I followed Stefan's directions to Willoughby, a town in Pennsylvania. It was a long journey.

Walking into the dinner, I spotted Rebekah, Katherine, Damon and Stefan sitting at a table.

"Ah, come to join us, little Lucy?" Katherine mocked.

I smiled sarcastically at her and flicked my wrist. She cried out in pain and her arm twisted. "Oops. That'll be the ulna." I flicked it again. She yelled out through her gritted teeth and gripped her lip. "Oops again. That's the femur, by the way." I clenched my hand into a fist. "And last put not least - the spine."

She jerked forwards. "Alright, alright. Sorry 'bout Little Gilbert."

I leaned in towards her. "But you're not really sorry, are you? It's all about survival, isn't that right, Katherine? No matter who gets hurt along the way."

She rolled her eyes. "Quit being so sentimental. It'll ruin you."

"You killed my brother," I stated. "That already ruined me."

Shaking my head, I sat down in front of her. "Now that that's over..." Damon drawled and I shot him a glare. "Look, Lucy won't hurt you-"

"No promises," I said through gritted teeth.

"-If you tell us where the cure is," Stefan finished for Damon, giving me a warning look. "You don't, we let her at you."

Katherine scoffed. "I'm not afraid of some baby witch."

I tightened the muscles in my hand underneath to table. Katherine cried out and dug her nails into her skull.

"Well, seems like you have plenty reason to be," Rebekah said, giving me a shocked but almost proud look.

I loosened my hand and Katherine sighed in relief. My stomach growled.

After I ordered, matters were discussed.

"Where's Elena?" Stefan asked Rebekah, raising an eyebrow at my barbaric behaviour.

"So let me get this straight: I tell you where Elena is, you shove the cure down her throat, and then I end up in a box, right? I don't think so."

"What about you over there, smiley?" Damon said to Katherine. "Do you know where she is?"

"I can give you a hint, since I don't want anymore bones crushes." She shot me a glare and I smiled innocently. "Start by looking at the town morgue. She's probably dead." Nobody spoke. "She went to meet up with a friend of mine. You may know him—an Original brother, impeccable taste."

Rebekah looked horrified. "Elijah?"

"Elijah's here?" Damon asked.

"I'm beginning to question Elijah's impeccable taste if he's friends with you," I said. "Who's friends with a bitch like you?"

"Oh, when I say friend, I mean friend," Katherine said.

Damon, Rebekah and I groaned in disgust. "You're _sleeping _with him? And here I thought he was sensible."

"It probably took him about ten seconds to realise that she wasn't me, at which point he probably yanked her heart right out of her chest," Rebekah said.

"All right. Where are they?" Katherine smiled but didn't reply. "Rebekah, you do realise if something should happen to Elena, you have no chance of finding the cure, right?"

"Fine. They were supposed to meet at the gazebo by the park," she replied.

Stefan got up. "I'll go talk to Elijah."

I swallowed the last bite of my food. "And while you deal with him, Katherine will take us to the cure, delighted that a certain vengeful witch is allowing her to live another second," I spat.

"No, she won't. The cure is my one chance to win my freedom back from Klaus."

"You're gonna broker a deal with Klaus?" Damon asked.

"No. She's gonna get Elijah to broker the deal for her. That's why you need your little friend, isn't it? Some things never change, Katherine," Stefan accused.

"Nope," Damon said.

"Fine." Katherine turned to Rebekah. "Move. You have to follow me."

* * *

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I stopped to take it. Elena's name and her picture was on the screen.

"Hey, where are you?"

_"That depends on whether or not you agree to my demands."_

"Elijah. Where's Elena?"

_"Safe, I assure you, until Katherine is hurt. Then I promise you she will not be so safe."_

I laughed softly. "She's gotten to you, Elijah. You're becoming like her, threatening innocent people. And by the way, I thought a thousand years would be enough time to sort the whole bad-girl shit out. _Katherine_? Seriously?"

Damon, Rebekah and Katherine had walked on in front of me and entered a house.

_"Not exactly what I've called to talk about. I want to make sure Katherine isn't harmed."_

I sighed. "She won't be."

_"Your word?"_

I rolled my eyes. "You can have my word if you tell me where my sister is. And just so you know, our little promise only lasts until I get Elena back."

_"Done."_

* * *

I came across an alleyway. Elijah paced the length of it while Elena sat in a doorway.

"I've warned Damon and Rebekah," I said. "Now let her go." Elijah stood in front of Elena. "You promised!"

"And I will keep my promise," he replied. "I am only curious as to why the sudden hatred for Katerina?"

Of course she didn't tell him. "Other than the whole compelling Jenna to stab herself, then chopping my uncle's fingers off... she kind of killed my brother." I smiled sarcastically. Elijah looked shocked. "She didn't tell you?"

"She lied."

I scoffed. "She's Katherine Pierce. She hasn't told the truth in the last one hundred years! I'd hate to say I told you so... but _duh_!"

He turned to Elena "I know what it feels like to lose a brother. And I'm sorry for your pain. I... I only hope that you can find your way back to yourself someday."

Elena smiled sardonically as she stood up. "Just like you hope Katherine will find her way back? You still think that innocent girl you saved from Klaus ages ago is in there somewhere?"

"I'd like to think so - yes."

"She's not. She's a monster now, Elijah. The sweet peasant girl you fell in love with way back when is dead. And she's not coming back," Elena said.

"I'm not a fool, Elena. Of course this has occurred to me, but what kind of man would I be if I didn't try to find my Katerina beneath this... Katherine façade?"

"You boys are all the same. Damon and Stefan still think that the girl they love is still in here somewhere, too," Elena said.

"You can't blame them for having hope, Elena. It'd be a shame if the world lost a soul as compassionate as yours."

"'Your compassion is a gift, Elena. Carry it with you always and forever.' I remember reading that in a letter once."

"Well, the writer sounds positively gifted. I'm sure he meant what he wrote," Elijah said.

"I'm sure he did. And it felt good to watch that letter burn, along with my old life and along with Jeremy's body."

Elena suddenly fell to the floor, her neck snapped.

"Sorry, I got held up." She eyed me. "What is she doing here?"

"Here to collect my limp sister," I said. "But looks like fate really wants me to kill you."

I thrusted my arm forwards and she flew backwards. I tightened my hand and Katherine groaned. My hand balled into a fist. Blood poured out of Katherine's eyes, mouth and nose. I was enjoying this thoroughly, and if it was anyone else, I'd feel guilty, but not with her.

"Stop!" Elijah shouted. I ignored him. "Stop or I kill Elena!"

Hesitating, I thought about what to do. Elena was my sister, and I loved her, but revenge tasted sweet and I wanted more than a taste. I wanted to finish it. I wanted to kill her.

But Elena was all the family I had left. I sighed and let go of Katherine, who gasped and gripped onto the floor. I kept my arm directed to her, but turned my head to look at Elijah. He held Elena's body in his arms, his hand ready to plunge into her chest and rip out her heart if I _dared _touch Katherine any more.

"I know your angry, Lucinda," he said. "But killing Katherine isn't the answer."

I scoffed. "You're _defending _her? Elijah, she's using you, like she did with every other man in her life. She's a manipulator, a seductress. You're better off without her."

"Kill her and I rip out your sisters heart."

I bit my lip. Did I really want Elena's blood on my hands? No. I didn't, but so badly did I want Katherine's.

My arm fell limply to my side and I turned around fully. Elijah gave me Elena's body. She woke up, gasping for air and getting to her feet.

She groaned and looked towards Katherine immediately and then to me. "You didn't finish the job?"

"It's difficult when your sister's life is threatened my an Original. Let's get out of here."

* * *

We sat at the table, waiting for Damon and Stefan to come. Elena didn't tell me what she wanted to talk about.

Damon and Stefan slid into the booth. "Hi," I said.

Stefan smiled at me, but turned to Elena. _It'll always be Elena, even when she has no humanity. _"You all right?"

She looked at them but didn't reply. "What's up with the silent treatment? You're the one that texted us and wanted to meet up."

"You know I don't want the cure. You need to know that I never will and I'm done talking about it. So... will you accept that and let me be who I am, or not?" Elena said.

I didn't like where this going and shared a glance with the Salvatore brothers.

"Yeah... no," Damon replied.

"Elena," I started, sighing. "When you turn your humanity back on, I know you'll want the cure. This isn't you!"

"It is now. And you three really need to accept it. Because if you don't, there will be consequences."

She took a sip from her mug.

"Listen, I was in the exact same situation that you're in right now," Stefan told her. "My emotions were off. I wasn't me. And you refused to accept that. You didn't give up on me. You didn't stop until you pulled me back."

She put her mug back down. The waitress came back. "Let me just top that off for you."

Elena smiled. "Thanks."

Suddenly, whooshed behind the waitress and snapped her neck. The waitress' body fell to the floor. I covered a gasp by putting my hand to my mouth.

"Oh!

"Like I said, consequences," Elena said, her face void of emotion. "That's one body you're responsible for. If you keep trying to fix me, there'll be a second, a twentieth, and a hundredth. It's your choice."

She walked away, but we hardly noticed. This was the new Elena. Maybe I should accept that.

"Still ready to ride off into the sunset?"

* * *

_**A/N: Reviews? There wasn't much in this chapter except for the whole revenge against Katherine scenario. **_


	19. Prom Night

_Prom Night_

I plopped down on the couch in the living room, stretching my arms across the length of it and putting my feet up on the table as the Salvatore brothers tossed a ball to each other.

"Yeah, and if that doesn't work, then we go to Plan 'B', lock her up, keep her sidelined until you, Lucy and I figure out a Plan 'C'," Stefan said.

"And what happens when she gets slammed with every emotion she's repressed since Jeremy died?" Damon asked.

"Well, then you, my friend, and Lucy, will be right there by her side, ready to help her through it," Stefan said. "But that's when Lucy decides to actually show her own emotions." He shot me a pointed look.

Damon smirked. "Are you sure she's not a vampire?"

"I'm actually a little doubtful," Stefan said.

I rolled my eyes. "I've been vomitting non-stop for the past half hour, I seriously don't need this."

Damon shrugged. "Don't come into our living room then."

"It's my living room too," I pouted.

"Because you burnt your house down," Stefan pointed out.

"I know it wasn't a very intelligent decision... but at least it's not another reminder of... of everything." The mood sobered and the only sound to be heard was the throwing and catching of the ball. "When are you going to stop throwing that ball?"

"When Elena kills someone," Damon said. "It's a deal we made with Elena."

I scoffed and flicked my fingers, sending the ball flying across the room. It smashed the mirror and I grimaced. "Consider the deal broken."

* * *

My room at the Salvatore boarding house was much darker than the one I had in my old home. The sheets were a light brown and the duvet was dark red and silky, as were the cushions. The tools I used for rituals and spells were stored in a dark oak cabinet, along with herbs and some grimoires Bonnie gave me. The maroon lamp on the bed-side table gave a dim light to the room.

Prom was tonight and I had no intentions of going. A couple of months ago, I would have been thrilled and excited, not overly so, but my little brother died and his death was only beginning to hit me, and it hurt like hell. I'd only been to his grave once. God, I was a horrible sister! Bonnie or Matt had probably been to his grave more than me. As grief slipped in, the desire for revenge lessened.

There was only one photo in my room - my favourite photo. It sat on chest of drawers along with a my mom's necklace and a knife. The back of the frame was reflected in the mirror behind it.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I saw my dad's grinning face, Mom's bright smile, Jeremy's mischievious smirk and Elena's tongue, which she had stuck out cheekily. My two fingers were behind her head - bunny ears. Jenna's arm was wound around my shoulders. It was our holiday, three years ago in Miami. I couldn't remember a happier time for us.

Four out of six of the people in that photo were dead. I choked on my tears and my hand clutched my stomach. Jeremy, Jenna, John, Alaric, Mom and Dad - they were all dead! _Gone_. And it hurt like hell. Bad thoughts occupied the front of my brain... I wanted to give up. The only time I had felt like this was when Mom and Dad died. I wanted so badly to join them. The pills were on the table in front of me, and I almost took them. I would have if Jenna didn't burst into the room at that moment, cradled me in her arms and told me that it was going to be okay. But it wasn't

. It only got worse.

It was my fault. I should have protected them. All of them... Jeremy - my baby brother who I had spent the last two years of my life trying to protect from the supernatural world, the very thing that destroyed him. Jenna - the fun aunt who helped me through every tough phase I went through, who I thought of as a second-mom. Who died because she learned of the supernatural world too late. John - my dad who acted as my uncle for sixteen years so Elena and I could be happy. He died so that I could have my twin sister. Alaric - my surrogate uncle, history teacher and step-dad (technically). He developed an evil alter-ego because of the Original witch and died when Elena became a vampire. Mom - she wasn't my really mother, but she was the woman I would always call 'mom'. She told me bedtime stories every night, sang me to sleep when I was scared and raised me to be who I was. She died because Elena went to the party. Dad - the man who inspired the majority of my dreams. I wanted to be a doctor because of him, a dream I wouldn't have because of the supernatural crap, but I would try as hard as I could to achieve.

Most people didn't know what happened next. I did. Maybe it was torture, but I wanted to see Jeremy again, _Alaric_. My fingers traced the knife. Did I really want an eternity of torture - just to see them again? Of course. Elena would be a heartless vampire for the next century. I'd be missed - by Caroline, Bonnie, Tyler, Matt, Stefan, maybe Damon, probably Klaus, and Elena in a few centuries, but they'd get over it. Most of them were immortal anyway.

My hand clasped the knife's handle. a selfish thing for me to do... but I didn't care. Alaric and Jeremy were waiting for me on the Other Side.

I picked up the knife and took a deep breath. My sobs no longer echoed through the room. There was still that pit of sadness in my stomach, that throbbing in my head, but other than that, I felt nothing.

The knife was inches away from my stomach. I closed my eyes and prepared myself for the pain.

"No!"

But when I opened my eyes, I wasn't dead. Instead, I was on my bed, Stefan on top of me.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, standing up. His face was etched with worry and anger, his brow creased.

I got up. "Walking into the sunshine," I said sarcastically. _Maybe not_.

"You can't just kill yourself, not now!"

I glared at him. "_Why_?" I spat. "Because it'll set Elena back even more? That's all you care about. _Elena _this, _Elena _that. God, Stefan, can you be anymore predictable?"

"I don't want to lose you," he said. "I can't." My features softened. "You seriously think that I don't care about you? After everything?"

I threw my hands up into the air. "I don't know! I have insecurity problems when it comes to Elena!"

Wait, _what_? Stefan looked shocked too. I wasn't insecure... no, no way! There was no way I was jealous of Elena. I spent my life proving that I was different to her, maybe even better- _Wait_. I did try to out-do my twin. She got an A-, I had to get an A+. If I didn't, I got upset. Mom used to reassure me that we were both special after tests. The feeling was mutual, I guessed. If I won a medal at a swimming competition, Elena would get a little stroppy. I never thought about it until now.

"You never said that before," Stefan said. "Is that how you really feel?"

I scrunched my nose. "No. _No_." There was no point in lying to him. I sighed. "Yes. A little. Maybe a lot." I wiped my tear-stained cheeks. "It doesn't matter. Just go back to Elena."

He didn't speak for a while, but sat down on the chair by the bookcase.

"Are you going to prom?" he asked me.

I cocked up an eyebrow. "You've just found an eighteen year old girl attempting suicide and you ask her if she's going to prom? Most people would call an ambulance and send the girl to a mental hospital." I laughed softly.

He chuckled slightly. "Are you?"

"No," I said, sobering up.

"You should go," he said, smiling. "Get your mind off things."

"I need to visit Jeremy's grave. I haven't been there in a while. Not since we buried him."

"You can do that tomorrow," Stefan suggested, standing up and walking over to me. He held my hands in his. "Come on. We can go together."

"You know I can't dance."

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly and smiled. "You'll be fine." Stefan twirled me around. "See? Nobody died."

"Hey, that's not funny," I reprimanded lightly. "Considering the death toll in this town."

"Get a dress," Stefan said sternly. "You're going to prom with me."

I backed away from him and held my hands up defensively. "Fine, fine. I'll go."

* * *

_"Hey. You didn't come dress shopping with me."_

"I already know what I'm wearing."

_"Oh?"_

"My mom wanted me to wear a dress she saw in a catalogue before... you know, and I found it a week ago. I didn't think I was going to go, but now I am, so I got it. Super last minute, I know, but it was still in stock."

_"That's good. What made you change your mind?"_

"Stefan said I should go."

_"Stefan? It's Stefan now? What about mystery-one-night-hook-up guy?"_

"Mystery-one-night-hook-up-guy isn't really the dating type. And Stefan isn't my anything, we're going as friends, Caroline."

_"Sure. But I'm really curious as to who this dude is."_

"Well you're gonna stay curious because I'm so not telling you."

_"Give me a hint? Like... is he human?"_

I scoffed. "That's a total giveaway."

_"So he's not! Hm... Another warlock?"_

"Nope."

_"Vampire?"_

I wasn't sure how to answer that one, not wanting her to find out, but I wouldn't lie. "Caroline-"

_"Tell me!"_

Groaning, I replied. "Fine. He's kind of vampire."

Caroline gasped from the other end of the phone. My heartbeat quickened. _"You slept with Tyler?"_

I barfed. "No! God, no! That's over. That's been over for a whole two years!"

_"But there are only two hybrids we know - Tyler and... oh no! You didn't!" _I cringed. _"Lucinda Gilbert, you slept with Klaus?"_

"It was a moment of weakness, okay? It just... happened."

_"Who else knows?"_

"Only you."

_"You have to tell Stefan."_

I shook my head, despite Caroline not being able to see me. "No. I can't stand the look he gives me when he's disappointed."

_"Lucy, you better tell him. Believe me!"_

"Why?"

_"You just - you just have to!"_

"Caroline-"

_"Please. I can't keep this secret him. You saw how he reacted when he found out Elena slept with Damon. He doesn't handle these things well."_

"But that was Elena, this is me. There's a humungous difference. Like the fact he was dating Elena while he never spares me a second glance."

_"A doubt that."_

"Look, I'll tell him eventually. Just not tonight. I don't want to ruin it."

_"Fine, but after that."_

"Okay, I will. I'll talk to you later."

_"Bye."_

* * *

**(I'm hopeless at describing dresses or clothes, so I'm gonna skip over that part a bit.)**

The dress was strapless and blue and fell down to my ankles. I wore Mom's necklace around my neck. Sighing, my hand reached to touch the necklace. My breakdown earlier replayed in my head. I was kind of glad Stefan was there to stop me, but a little disappointed.

My phone beeped. _Meet me out front. _I let out a small laugh and checked myself in the mirror again. My make-up was subtle, since I was barely able to put it on.

I held up my dress as I walked down the stairs, clutching the bannister for dear life.

Stefan was waiting outside for me, a bouquet of flowers in his hands. He smiled politely, examing my dress. I blushed, very un-Lucylike of me. He seemed breathless. It was like how he looked at Elena. It felt nice being the centre of Stefan's attention for once.

He caught himself and bowed slightly, smirking. "Shall we go to the limo?"

I looked out front. There was a black limo waiting for us. I smiled. "We could have taken the car."

I took the flowers from him and put them inside. When I came back out, Stefan linked his arm in mine. "Only you wouldn't appreciate the effort of ordering a limo for prom."

I laughed. "I like the simply things." We climbed into the limo. "But limos are nice too."

* * *

As we walked into the sport's hall, Stefan and I glanced at the slideshows Caroline set up. "Wow. Caroline did all this?" I asked.

"Pretty much. What did you expect? It's Caroline."

The photo changed to a picture of Bonnie, Elena, Caroline and me outside by the pitch. The other three girls were in their cheerleader uniform while I - the odd one out - was in running shorts and an orange t-shirt.

"I remember that day," I said, smiling. "It was near the end of freshman year and the biggest thing I had to worry about was hundred metre hurdles and two hundred sprint. God I miss those days."

I could have stared at that photo forever and forgot about everything else, but then the photo changed to the cheerleading squad at practice.

"Where's the disco ball?"

Damon and Elena had arrived, my evil twin sister in Caroline's dress. I gave her a questioning look, but she just smirked. Deciding not to let her rile me up, I just sighed.

"Caroline's been working on this for a while. It's a photo-yearbook of the senior class," Stefan explained.

The photo changed to a picture of Matt and Elena on the first day of freshman year.

"Isn't that photo from, ah, the first day of freshman year?" Stefan coaxed.

Elena stared at it. "My mom took that when she dropped us off at school. After Lucy went straight to the soccer coach about training times."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Elena's face. The picture faded into another one, one of me, Jeremy and Elena. All of us smiling and happy.

Elena removed her jacket. "I'm gonna get a seizure if I keep staring at these screens."

* * *

Stefan twirled me around, both of us were laughing joyfully. Stefan was doing most of the hard work, I was just the recipient of the fun parts.

Elena was talking with another girl. I was worried that she was being anything less than kind to the girl. A common sibling worry, but not so much when your sister's a ruthless vampire with no humanity.

I nodded in Elena's direction. Stefan looked behind him. "Dance with her, get her to remember the time when you two were together. When she was human."

Stefan quirked his brow. "I can stay, you know. Tonight doesn't have to be all Elena-focused. It can be about you."

I smiled. "I know, but prom is the perfect time to stir some emotion in her. Go on." I stepped back. "We have plenty of time to focus on me."

He laughed. "Fair enough."

I went over to Bonnie and Matt, watching Stefan and Elena dance. I was a little jealous, but I wanted Elena to have her humanity so she could stop causing trouble for everyone and we could live a happy life.

"So..." Bonnie drawled. "You and Stefan..."

"Are not a thing and are here as purely platonic friends," I replied automatically.

She smirked. "Okay, then."

"Any Silas-business?" I asked.

Bonnie shook her head. "Actually, no. Things have been pretty normal."

"Which is rare," Matt said. "So that means we have to make the most of it." He grinned and offered us both a hand. "Ladies?"

Bonnie and I laughed as we stumbled around the dance floor. Three people dancing to a slow song was incredibly difficult, but humerous at the same time and very enjoyable.

I looked past Matt's shoulder at Caroline, who was wearing a pretty white dress.

_**Third Person POV**_

"I know you said to kill her with kindness, but can't I just kill her?" Caroline said as she danced with Stefan.

"I see you found a dress?" he replied, smiling.

"Mom found it in the attic," she said. "Are you making any progress with the dress thief?"

"I don't know. I think it's affecting me a lot more than it's affecting her."

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked, concerned.

"Every time I tell myself that I'm moving on, there's this part of me that just can't seem to shake her. But tonight - with Lucy - it's like I've forgotten all about Elena. She's the one I can't get off my mind."

Caroline smiled, but her conversation with Lucy today replayed in her head. She slept with _Klaus_! Klaus of all people. She noticed the tiny bit of hurt in Stefan's eyes when he overheard them talking about Klaus a couple of months ago, and when he accused Lucy of sleeping with someone rather playfully. He disguised his hurt with humour around her, because he knew that's what she liked best about him in his eyes - his humour.

"That's normal, Stefan. You guys were in love, but now you've found someone new and you can move on. It's better this way. Soon, you'll move on without even realising it."

"But is it bad that I'm moving on with her sister?" Stefan asked his best friend.

Caroline shrugged. "Depends. If you're into Lucy because she's Elena's sister - then yes, it's totally bad and toxic, but if it's because Lucy's intelligent and kind and has her only completely different personality - then no, it's not bad at all."

Stefan nodded, distracted as he watched Bonnie, Matt and Lucy dance drunkenly through the hall, despite the Gilbert girl not having anything to drink.

"Who was it?" Stefan asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Who did she sleep with?"

"That doesn't matter," Caroline said quickly.

"_Caroline_," Stefan addressed sternly. "Tell me."

"I can't!" the blonde exclaimed. "I promised I wouldn't! Why do you care so much anyway?"

"I'm thinking the worst here, Caroline," he said. "_Tell me_."

"Lucy will tell you," she said. "I told her to."

Stefan shook his head. "Fine, but tell me one thing."

"What's that?"

"Was it Klaus?"

Caroline didn't reply and looked up at him with sorry, guilty eyes. He didn't have a right to be upset, Stefan reminded himself. Lucy wasn't his. He spent his time pining over Elena to make that happen. It was only lately did he realise his mistake.

Stefan nodded mutely and walked away.

* * *

_**Lucy's POV**_

I tipped the flask and the last of the liquid dripped into my mouth. Caroline had left, leaving me with Damon.

"You and my little bro were getting cozy."

"We are not a thing!" I half-said half-yelled. "Can everyone just stop saying that we are!"

"What ever you say." He took a sip of his drink. "I think it's cute, personally. You two look good together."

I scoffed. "You just want Stefan and me to get together so you can snog Elena without worrying about Stefan."

Damon scowled. "That's not the full reason, believe it or not. You make him happy. Maybe I care about my brother? Wow. Shocker!" He downed the rest of the alcohol. "And the double dates would be exciting!"

I rolled my eyes. Bonnie rushed over to us. "We have a problem."

* * *

"It's like Jeremy was there. I could talk to him, feel him," Bonnie said.

"Bonnie, that's what Silas does. You can't let him get to you again," Stefan told her.

"Yeah, because you all crazy and brainwashed is just not a good look," Damon said.

"Be a little sensitive, Damon," I scolded. "She just saw her dead ex-boyfriend."

"And you almost committed suicide, you didn't get my sympathy," Damon stated. Stefan looked down at his shoes. "Oops. I suppose that was supposed to stay secret."

Matt and Bonnie shot me worried glances, but I just glared at Stefan. "You told him?"

His gaze shot up to meet mine. "You're not the only one who keeps secrets, Lucy," he said harshly.

Taken aback, my brows furrowed and I looked at him, confused. "What are you talking about?"

He shook his head. "Never mind. Look, one of us should take Elena home."

"What? No. She's safer here in public around all these people. There's no way Silas can make everyone see the same thing all at once," Damon shot him down.

"Okay, in the meantime, how do we look out for a guy that can appear as anyone?" Matt said.

"Maybe we should have a code-word or something?" I suggested.

April had took to the stage, ready to announce prom king and queen. "All right, your prom king and queen are... Matt Donovan and Bonnie Bennett."

* * *

_**Third Person POV**_

Stefan went to the woods to get some air. The hall was crowded, full of merry seniors at their senior prom, blissfully unaware of the horrors that surrounded them.

"Nice night, huh?"

He turned his head to see the person he was subconsciously trying to avoid. "Lucy. Shouldn't you be inside?"

"I came to check on you," she said.

"No you didn't, you came to talk about what I said in there."

She acted confused. "What did you say?"

"About you keeping secrets," Stefan said. She still looked confused. He scoffed. "Don't play dumb. _Klaus_. You slept with Klaus, or did that slip your mind?"

Lucy's mouth formed an 'o' and she rubbed the nape of her neck nervously. "Oh, right, you know. How do you know?"

"Caroline told me," he said.

She nodded. "Right."

They stood in silence before Stefan spoke again. "Why? Why did you sleep with him?"

Lucy shrugged. "Heat of the moment, I suppose." She stepped closer to him. "It was a mistake, and I regret it. But I realise what I want now."

Stefan couldn't pull his green eyes away from her hazel ones. "What's that?"

She took a deep breath. "You." She smashed her lips onto his and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Stefan loved the feeling of her lips on his skin. It was different to Elena's kiss in so many ways.

But something wasn't right. Something about Lucy was off.

She pulled away and smirked. _Something definately wasn't right._

"You Salvatore's are too driven by lust," she said.

Then it hit him.

"Silas," he breathed.

Silas/Lucy broke a branch in half with his/her knee and staked him with it. Stefan grunted in pain.

"That was fun," he said, still smirking. "I'm going to go trick your brother now. See who's smarter."

* * *

Damon walked through the woods, searching for his baby brother. Silas had tricked him too. He thought the bastard was Stefan until he practically admitted it. He told him Stefan was in the woods after pretending to be his latest infatuation.

He heard someone grunt in pain. "Stefan?"

"Yeah. I'm over here. Ah!"

Stefan groaned in pain as he pulled the branch out of his stomach. Damon knelt down beside him.

"Let me guess; a pretty girl with brown hair and green eyes came up to you claiming to be your newest temptation?"

"Yeah," he said.

* * *

_**Lucy's POV**_

I went outside to talk a breather. Everyone inside was so happy, while I was just confused and worrying. I'd never have a supernatural-free day. Silas could be anyone.

Perhaps I was being paranoid, but when Klaus walked up to me, I immediately put out my hand, signalling him to stop.

"Silas?"

He looked amused. "No."

"Prove it," I said.

Klaus sighed, but smirked. "You have a birthmark that looks like a horse on your lower back."

I rolled my eyes and lowered my hand. "Yep, it's you. What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd come to ask you to dance," he said, his smirk turned into a wide smile. "It has nothing to do with the deal my sister made with Elijah."

"What deal?"

"She wouldn't use her vampiric abilities in return for the cure," he answered.

"And you've come to watch her fail," I scoffed, nodding.

He held out his hand. "Or I've come to dance with a certain brown-haired senior."

Rolling my eyes, I took his hand and we danced. He twirled me around and dipped me. His hand was placed on my lower back while the other clasped my hand in his. We rocked back and forth, staying in rhythm to the faint sound of the music playing in the hall.

"Who's your date?" Klaus asked.

"What makes you think I have one?"

"You're too pretty to not have a date," he complimented.

I scoffed, but smiled. "Stefan. We came as friends."

Klaus' face darkened. "Ah... Stefan's finally got the balls to ask you on a date."

"It's not really a date," I said. "He didn't want me to stay at home alone after a suicide attempt."

His eyes widened. "You tried to kill yourself?"

"I don't want to talk about it," I said. "It was just a moment of weakness."

"You're strong, Lucy." He stopped dancing. "Stronger than you think."

_Strong. _A suicide attempt and an almost-suicide attempt - did that make me 'strong'? If it did, then why did I feel so damn weak? Magic meant nothing when you were a scared little girl who lost too much.

I shook my head when I realised I was staring. "Silas pretended to be Jeremy. He can shift into anyone," I told him.

"I know," Klaus replied. "He pretended to be you."

"He's going to keep torturing us until he gets that cure and drops the veil," I said.

"You don't want the veil to the Other Side dropped? Don't you want your brother back?"

"Not if it means bringing back every dead supernatural being."

"Lucy-"

I turned around to see Stefan, who looked between me and Klaus, expecting one of us to explain. What the hell?

"Silas pretended to be you," he said to me, but looking at Klaus. "He staked me to a tree and then he pretended to be me. Did you talk to anyone else in the last half hour?"

"No. I've only talked to Matt," I said. "And Klaus just now."

"How do we know he's not Silas?" Stefan asked. I blushed slightly, trying to think of an answer. Stefan pursed his lips and nodded. "Right."

Did he _know_? But Caroline promised... _uh_! Of course Caroline would tell him. Caroline couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it. _God_.

"I'm going to talk to Bonnie," I said, backing away from the two males.

_**Third Person POV**_

"Finally got the nerve, I see," Klaus said, grinning. "Moving on from Elena with her sister - a little cliché, don't you think?"

"Lucy's nothing like Elena," Stefan replied.

"No. She's everything Elena isn't, She puts other people before herself, she deals with her problems without loading them on others. Elena - even when she has no humanity - is still a problem. That's what draws us to Lucy, she's strong, selfless, loyal."

Stefan put his hands in his pockets, pursed his lips and fixed his eyes on the floor.

"She's been placed second, after her sister all her life, until the supernatural came along. The Bennett witch chose her as her favourite, due to the gifts they both shared. Caroline Forbes grew tired of Elena's selfishness and grew closer to Lucy, but I was the only man who favoured her before her sister. She won't go for you Stefan. She'll think you're using her to get over her sister."

"And she'll choose you?" Stefan asked, amused and raising his eyebrow. "If you haven't noticed, she doesn't exactly go for sociopaths. You two had a one-night stand and all of a sudden she's in love with you?"

A look of anger crossed Klaus' face, but it soon turned into a smirk. "You're jealous. You're jealous because I had a taste of the little witch before you even thought of going for her."

Stefan grinned and approached Klaus. "And that is why she won't go for you. Because you don't think of her as a person, you think of her as a toy to be won. She may not go for me, but she will never go for you."

* * *

Prom wasn't what I expected. As I approached the Salvatore boarding house, I heard someone behind me. I whipped around to look at them, but no one was there.

The bush rustled, but still, no one was there. This was getting creepy.

"Hello?"

Bad idea, bad idea. That's what people say in movies before they get murdered. I really did not want to die.

I reached out to open the door, my hand shaking, but before I gripped the handle, I heard someone muttering behind me.

And then everything went black.

* * *

_**A/N: This was a very Lucy/Stefan centric chapter. I've wanted to do one of these for a while. The direction I'm going in should be pretty obvious now. I know a lot of you suggested that I didn't, but I didn't really like Season Five of TVD and I absolutely love the Originals! And this was the best thing for the plot, in my opinion. I hope you continue to read!**_

_**Review!**_


	20. A Little Bundle

_A Little Bundle_

"She's the calmest desiccating vampire I've ever seen. I remember when you starved me down there for three days, I would've wept at your feet for an orange peel," Damon said.

"Look, she's not gonna beg for blood. Begging means desperation, emotion. She's still in no-humanity zone," Stefan replied.

"How hungry does she have to be before we can torture some feelings back into her?" the elder Salvatore brother asked.

"A lot hungrier than she is now, apparently. Hey - have you seen Lucy? She hasn't been home in four days."

Damon shrugged. "No idea. She's probably fine. It's not like she's weak or anything. Maybe she's with Klaus somewhere over the rainbow?"

Stefan rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Damon. What if she's in trouble?"

"She'll find a way out of it," Damon said, trying to calm his baby brother down. "Or she'll send us a message. In the meantime, we focus on Elena."

Just then, Katherine sauntered into the room. "Maybe I can provide a little excitement."

"Katherine," Stefan addressed.

"The one and only... sort of. So, when's the 'Wecome Home' party?" she said, pouring herself a drink.

"Wow, look who went and got bold. Last time I checked, Klaus was plotting your eternal demise," Damon said.

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore, because Klaus is gone."

"Wait, what do you mean he's gone?" Stefan questioned the doppelganger.

"Let's just say Little Lucy turned out to be just the thing we needed to get Klaus out of our lives." She sipped her drink. "For good."

Katherine smiled.

"Where's Lucy, Katherine?" Stefan demanded.

"Don't worry, she won't be harmed, that's if the Original brothers agree to the terms and conditions," she said. Stefan rushed forward and grabbed her by the throat - an impulsive thing to do when the vampire you were attacking was three times your age. Katherine tackled Stefan to the ground, holding him down by his shoulders. "Let's just say, Lucy has a whole lot of explaining to do."

* * *

Lucy groaned and rubbed her forehead. Her head was killing her and it felt as if she was about to faint again.

She took in her surroundings. The room was dimly lit by candles and was extremely creepy. The last thing she remembered was being ambushed before she could get into the house. Now, she was strapped to a chair by the wrists and struggling to get out.

The Gilbert witch squinted her eyes at the straps, willing for them to open. Nothing happened. Maybe they were enchanted? She flicked her fingers at a vase, expecting it to smash into the wall, but again, nothing happened. The vase was still.

"I took your magic away," said a black-haired girl in skinny jeans. "Temporarily."

Lucy glared at her. "And when do I get it back?"

"When Klaus agrees to our plans," she told me, picking up a needle.

She scoffed. "What makes you think he cares so much about me?"

"Oh, he does," the girl said. "But he'll care about you even more when he finds out about the little muffin in your oven."

"What oven?"

She furrowed her brows, as if she was confused. _Why would Klaus care about a muffin? _Lucy thought.

"You're pregnant." Lucy raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You didn't know?"

"I've only slept with one person in the past six months, and I'm positive he can't procreate," she countered.

"Klaus?" Lucy shot her a questioning glance. How the hell did she know all this? "Turns out, Klaus can have children, and you're carrying the first pureblooded-hybrid."

Lucy shook her head. "You're bonkers. Absolutely bonkers."

"Haven't you been experiencing symptoms of pregnancy? Vomiting? Excessive hunger?" she asked. Lucinda looked at her laps. She had been vomitting a lot lately, and her hunger was insatiable. "That's what I thought."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Sophie Deveraux," she said. "My sister Jane-Anne died so that we could do the spell to confirm your pregnancy. We're going to use you to get Klaus to help us take down Marcel."

"Klaus will kill you," Lucy growled.

"You don't think I know that? I've taken precautions." She approached me with the needle. Lucy flinched away from it. "Don't worry, it won't harm you or the baby. You're just gonna go into a nice slumber..."

* * *

Sophie left the restaurant through the back door. She lit candles on a small table, crying as she addressed her dead sister.

"Oh, you got me into this, Jane. Give me the strength to finish it."

The door shut behind her. Sophie whipped around and two vampire jumped into the alleyway.

"The doors work, you know," she snapped.

"You're doing magic?" one of the vampires asked.

"I'm praying to my dead sister. Go ahead, pay your respects."

"Don't make this a thing, Sophie. The hybrid was looking for Jane-Anne. Marcel wants to know why."

"I'd say ask her yourself, but I guess you can't, seeing as Marcel killed her," Sophie spat.

One of the vampires rushed to grab Sophie, but then he disappeared. Both Sophie and the other vampire looked around confused and afraid. The heart of the vampire that had disappeared fell to the ground. Before the other vampire could attack the Deveraux witch, he was grabbed by someone. He was thrown down the wall, a knife in his chest. Sophie stared at the dead vampire, as someone came up behind her.

"I'm Elijah. You heard of me?"

Sophie didn't know anyone who hadn't heard of the great Original in a suit.

She noddded. "Yes."

"So, why don't you tell me what business your family has with my brother?" Elijah suggested.

* * *

"This is sacred ground, which means vampires have to be invited in. But, since I'm desperate... Come on in," Sophie invited the Original inside the sacred grounds.

Elijah stepped over the once invisible barrier. "We can talk freely here."

"Then I suggest you start talking. What did your sister want with Niklaus?"

"Isn't it obvious? We have a vampire problem, and we need help. Marcel has an army backing him. The witches have been trying to fight back. We haven't had much luck, until I had a vision of witch. She had a special connection to your brother."

"What kind of connection?" Elijah inquired.

"Apparently, he was trying to seduce her for the past year. I believe you know her, actually. She wanted to kill some girl, he was helping her, one thing led to another and now this special witch - she's the father of the child she's carrying is your brother Klaus."

"That's impossible," Elijah stated.

"Nothing is impossible, especially not when it comes to your brother. Think about it - they call him the hybrid, right?" She raised her voice and spun aorund. "Bring her out!"

Three of the witches brought out the girl Elijah recognised as Lucinda Gilbert, his brother's infactuation. He liked the girl, since she brought out the humanity in his brother.

Lucinda was dazel and irritated. "Elijah," she said bitterly. "Come to save the damsel?"

Elijah grinned. "Give us a moment, please."

* * *

"So, have they been holding you here against your will?" Elijah asked.

Lucy nodded. "They kidnapped me when I was coming home. And then did some tests and rituals. Not that I have a clue how this could happen. Vampires are dead - they don't... they can't have children."

"You know my brother's story." Lucy nodded. "It seems his werewolf side enables him to have children."

"And I was lucky enough to be the miracle baby's mom," she said sarcastically.

Elijah laughed. "I never thought you'd give in to my brother's advances. You always seemed adamant that there was nothing there."

"Well - you know - the whole one-night stand thing. I was a little drunk, and now I'm knocked up. Total cliché," she said. "I'm not sure if there was anything there."

"He wasn't always like this - my brother," Elijah told her. "He used to be quite gentle and kind." Lucy didn't say anything. "I can show you, if I may."

She flinched as he attempted to lay his hand on her temple. "What are you doing?"

"Relax. If you open your mind to me, I can show you."

Allowing Elijah to touch her head, she closed her eyes.

_"In the beginning, our family was human... A thousand years ago, now."_

"Come, Henrik. Our brothers are fighting again," Rebekah said excitedly, rushing over to Elijah and Klaus.

_"Although our mother dabbled in the dark arts, we were actually just a family trying to survive in a time when it was quite difficult to do so. And, for better or worse, we were happy. That is, however, until one night, our youngest brother was killed by our village's greatest threat."_

Klaus carried Henrik's - their younger brother's - body home.

"Mother!" he cried.

_"Men that could transform themselves into wolves during the full moon. Our family was devastated, none more than Niklaus. Desperate to protect the rest of us, our father forced our mother to call upon her black magic in order to make us stronger."_

Mikael held up the arm of a human, which had been slip, in front of Rebekah. "Drink!"

Rebekah drank the blood hungrily.

_"Thus, the first vampires were born. But with this speed, this strength, this immortality, came a terrible hunger. No one felt this hunger more than Niklaus."_

Klaus attacked a human, draining them to the point of death.

_"When he killed for the first time, we knew what he truly was."_

Klaus' bones were cracking and he screaming. He was turning into wolf. Elijah and Mikael ran over to them.

"Niklaus!" Elijah yelled.

"What is happening to me?" Klaus asked, beads of sweat on his forehead.

Elijah tried to run over to his brother and help him, but Mikael gripped his arm and pulled him back.

"Don't!" Mikael shouted.

"Father! It hurts!" Klaus shrieked.

"He's a beast - an abomination."

She was brought back to present time. "He wasn't just a vampire," Elijah said.

"He was also a werewolf. The werewolf curse is triggered when you kill someone."

Elijah nodded. "Niklaus was the result of an indiscretion our mother had hidden from us all. An affair, with a werewolf."

Esther stood in front of a fire, muttering the words to a spell.

_"Enfuriated by this betrayal, my father forced our mother to cast a spell that would suppress Klaus's werewolf side, denying him any connection with his true self."_

Mikael was tying Klaus down to a wooden cross. "Elijah! Elijah, hold him down!" Mikael said.

"Brother, please! Don't let them do this to me!" Klaus begged. Lucy felt sorry for him. It wasn't his fault Esther couldn't keep her legs closed.

"Do it now, boy! Now!"

"Help me!"

Once again, she was brought back to present times.

"Wow. I mean, I knew your dad for a bit, but _wow_. He really was a dick."

Elijah chuckled.

"I thought you'd hate me since I tried to kill Katherine," she said.

"You had every right to want her dead," he replied. "Why haven't you tried to flee?"

"No magic," she explained, the corner of her mouth twitching upwards. "One of the witches - Sophie Deveraux - said that I'd get it back once you agreed to her master plan to take down someone called Marcel. Who the hell is he?"

"A vampire my family took in as our own many centuries ago," Elijah said. "Klaus taught him all of his tricks."

She nodded. "What am I supposed to do? My life and my child's life rests in my hands of a notorious psycho with sociopathic tendencies... who I slept with. Because I'm _so _intelligent."

"I cannot excuse his behavior, but you must understand, when our father hunted him – hunted us – for centuries, every time we found a moment of happiness, we were forced to flee. Even here, in New Orleans, where we were happiest of all. Not long after Niklaus broke the spell which prevented him from becoming a hybrid, he defeated our father, as you remember. I thought this would make him happy." Elijah shook his head. "He was angrier than ever. I wonder if perhaps this baby might be a way for my brother to find happiness. You are the only person my brother seems to genuinely care about, but along with the child you carry... I think I have found a way to finally save Klaus from himself."

"I'm glad you feel that way, because we need your help."

They turned their heads to look a Sophie.

"What, precisely, is it that you want and what does it have to do with this young woman?"

"We want to run Marcel and his vampires out of town," Sophie admitted. "Klaus is the key. Everything Marcel knows about being a vampire, he learned from Klaus. Marcel trusts him, looks up to him, and he won't see the betrayal coming."

"Yes, well, as I'm sure you're aware, my brother Niklaus doesn't like to be told what to do."

"That's why I brought you here," Sophie said. "Marcel drove the werewolves out of town decades ago and he despises witches. Do you really think he's going to welcome a hybrid-witch baby to the neighborhood? Convince Klaus to help us, and no one has to know about the newest member of the Original family."

Elijah looked amused. "That sounds remarkably like blackmail."

"Like I said, I'm desperate."

"Well, then, I have my work cut out for me, don't I?"

* * *

"Sophie Deveraux. What is this?" Klaus greeted as he walked into mausoleums.

"He's all yours, proceed," Elijah said to Sophie.

She looked to Klaus. "You know you're famous in this town? Witches tell bedtime stories about the powerful vampire Klaus. We know Marcel was nothing but an orphan street rat, until you made him what he is. And now he's out of control. He does what he wants, he kills who he wants. I'm gonna stop him, and you're gonna help me."

Klaus smiled, clearly amused. "This is why you brought me here?"

"Hear her out."

"I don't need to hear her out. I assure you, love, there is not a thing on this earth that will matter enough for me to waste even thirty more seconds of my time. Elijah, what madness is this?"

Lucy was dragged into mausoleum, two witches grabbing her arm. "I can walk you know!" Her eyes widened once she saw Klaus. "Klaus. Please listen to them."

Klaus looked from Lucy to Sophie, clearly angry. "And why is she here?"

"Marcel may be able to keep up from practicing real magic in this town, but as keepers of the balance we still know when nature has cooked up something new. For example, I have a special gift... of sensing when a girl is pregnant."

"What?" Klaus exclaimed, all trace of anger twisted into confusion.

"It's impossible, but-"

"What are you saying?" he asked Sophie.

"Niklaus... the girl is carrying your child." Elijah smiled.

"No. It's impossible. Vampires cannot procreate!"

"But werewolves can. Magic made you a vampire, but you were born a werewolf. You're the Original hybrid, the first of your kind, and this pregnancy is one of nature's loopholes."

Klaus tried to control his facial expression, but couldn't. He turned to Lucy and started shouted.

"You've been with someone else, admit it!"

She clenched her fists. "I've been couped up in a creepy mausoleum because - apparently - you can have children. Don't you think I would have fessed up and gotten the hell out of here if there was any small chance it wasn't yours? And besides, I come from a town full of sterile vampires, where the odds of someone being human is extremely slim."

"My sister gave her life to perform the spell she needed to confirm this pregnancy," Sophie interrupted, gaining everyone's attention. "Because of Jane-Anne's sacrifice, the lives of this girl and her baby are now controlled by us. If you don't help us take down Marcel, so help me, Lucy won't live long enough to see her first maternity dress."

My hand clutched my stomach protectively. "Wait... _what_?"

"Enough of this. If you want Marcel dead, he's dead. I'll do it myself," Elijah said.

"No. We can't, not yet. We have a clear plan that we need to follow, and there are rules."

"How dare you command me..." he said, his voice low but frightening. "_Threaten _me, with what you wrongfully perceive to be my weaknesses. I won't hear any more lies."

He edged for the door. "Niklaus. _Listen_."

Lucy was still in shock herself. She was pregnant with a hybrid baby and she was scared out of her wits. If Klaus didn't work with these witches - she'd be dead.

Klaus approached the pregnant witch. Her hand rested on her stomach. He heard the soft heartbeat coming from her abdomen. Listening in wonderment, he met Lucy's eyes. She smiled at him and Klaus felt guilty for some reason unbeknownst to him.

"Kill her and the baby. What do I care?"

He stormed out.

"No, let's not kill the girl and her baby," Lucy said, shaking her head. "That's _not_ a very nice thing to do."

"No one touches the girl. I'll fix this," Elijah said and Sophie nodded.

* * *

"Niklaus," Elijah said, catching up to him.

"It's a trick, Elijah."

"No, brother. It's a gift. It's your chance - it's our chance."

"To what?"

"To start over. Take back everything we lost, everything that was taken from us. Niklaus, our own parents came to despise us. Our family was ruined - we were ruined. And since then, all that you have ever wanted - all that we have ever wanted was a family."

"I will not be manipulated." He turned away, but his annoying older brother speeded in front of him, blocking his way.

"So they're manipulating you. So what? With them, Lucinda Gilbert, the girl you have come to love, and her child - _your_ child - get to live."

"I'm gonna kill every last one of them," he growled and turned away, but his brother blocked him once again.

"And then what? Then you return to Mystic Falls to resume your life as the hated one, as the evil hybrid? Is it so important to you that people quake with fear at the sound of your name?"

"People quake with fear because I have the power to make them afraid!" he snapped. "What will this child offer me? Will it guarantee me power?"

"Family is power, Niklaus. Love, loyalty - that's power. This is what we swore to one another a thousand years ago, before life tore away what little humanity you had left, before ego, before anger, before paranoia created in this person before me someone I can barely even recognize as my own brother. This is us, the Original family, and we remain together, always and forever. I am asking you to stay here. I will help you and I will stand by you. I will be your brother. We will build a home here together. So save this girl. Save your child."

Elijah placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. Klaus brought his hand to Elijah's neck in a brotherly gesture.

"No."

* * *

_"Well, he's doing what he does; given a chance at happiness, Klaus runs in the opposite direction."_

"Then let him run. That child, if it's even his, and Lucy are better off without him."

_"He's not better off without that child, Rebekah, and neither are we."_

"Darling, kind Elijah. Our brother rarely brings us anything but pain. At what point in your immortal life will you stop searching for his redemption?"

_"I'll stop searching for his redemption when I believe there is none left to be found."_

Elijah hung up. Rebekah placed the phone on the table and turned around, hearing a noise behind her. Katherine was leaning against the table.

"I'd give you a play-by-play, but you have the air of someone who's been lurking and listening."

"He'll come around. You know Elijah - he won't stop until he's convinced Klaus to do the right thing," Katherine replied.

"I know you consider yourself an expert in brotherly dynamics, but you don't know my brothers half as well as you think you do."

"You're wrong," Katherine said. "Klaus won't be able to walk away from this. He and I are the same. We manipulate, we thirst for power, we control, we punish, but our actions are driven by one, singular place deep inside."

"And what's that?"

"We're alone, and we hate it. Tell Elijah to call me when he comes home. I'll be waiting for him."

* * *

Lucy hugged her knees and leaned against the wall. The witches were talking about Klaus and Marcel. _Again_. She was tired of being a pawn in this silly little game. Her baby would be used as a pawn. It would never be safe. Nine months before it's birth, and it already had a coven of witches ready to kill it. It depressed her that an innocent child's life - _her _child's life - was in the hands of a coven of psycho, manipulative witches.

"Marcel and his vampires are out of control. Something had to be done," Sophie said to the witches.

"And the solution is to bring in more vampires?" another witch - Agnes - asked.

"These aren't just any vampires, Agnes. They're the Originals."

"What makes you think you can control the hybrid?" the elder witch questioned.

"She can't." Lucy turned her head to see Elijah. "I'm not entirely certain that I can, either. But now that your coven has drawn his ire, I have a question. What prevents my brother from murdering you instead of cooperating?"

Sophie picked up a needle and pricked her hand with it.

There was a sharp sting where Sophie pricked herself, which Lucy also felt. "Ow!" she gasped. "What was that for?"

There was a drop of blood on my hand, where Sophie had hurt herself.

"The spell my sister performed, the one that got her killed? It didn't just confirm the pregnancy. It linked me to Lucy. So anything that happens to me, happens to her, which means her life is in my hands. Klaus may not care about his own child, but it's very clear what it already means to you. If I have to hurt Lucy – or worse – to ensure that I have your attention, I will."

Elijah grinned at her audacity. "You would dare threaten an Original?"

"I have nothing to lose," Sophie said seriously. Elijah's face fell. "You have until midnight to get Klaus to change his mind."

* * *

The clock struck twelve. "His time is up. What're you gonna do now, Sophie?" Agnes asked.

"I'm gonna do what I said was gonna do," Sophie said, putting on a brave face.

"What, kill the girl? Kill yourself?" Sabine inquired, somewhat shocked and scared for her friend.

"Klaus does not care about the child," Agnes said.

"I do."

They turned to look at the eldest Original, carrying a body in his arms.

"And I bring proof of my intent to help you: the body of your fallen friend, which I procured from Marcel himself."

"Jane-Anne," Sophie obsevered.

"May she be granted peace. Klaus will agree to your terms. I just need a little more time."

"You had your time. It's passed," Agnes stated.

"Shut up, Agnes," Sabine snapped.

Elijah offered Lucy a hand, which she took. "For now, accept the deal. The girl and the child remain unharmed, or Klaus will kill you all." He walked away, but turned around before exiting the mausoleum. "And I will help him."

* * *

"Have I not made clear my desire to be left alone?" Klaus said, drinking beer from a bottle.

"Oh, you demand to be left alone at least once a decade. Your words have ceased to have impact," Elijah quipped.

"Why must you keep harping on about the baby?" Klaus yelled. "That child will never be born. In fact, Lucy is probably dead already."

Elijah rushed over to Klaus and wrapped his arm around his throat. "You will not walk away from this!"

"Let me go," Klaus said angrily.

"I WILL NOT!" Elijah yelled.

He threw Klaus onto the floor, but lifted him up again.

"Don't make me say it again."

"I will not let go. I will never let go," Elijah said. Klaus grabbed Elijah and threw him against the fence. Elijah stood up and took one of the iron rods. He approached Klaus, gripping the rod. "Even if I have to spend eternity saving you from your own stubborn, petulant, vile self..." He hit Klaus with the rod. "If I have to beat you as father used to beat you, to remind you of your own humanity –" He hit Klaus again. "– to care about anything..."

He attempted to hit him again, but Klaus grabbed the rod and struck Elijah with it repeatedly. He threw his brother across the room, dropped the rod onto the ground and approached his brother, breathing heavily.

"You're beyond pathetic, Elijah."

"Well who is more pathetic? The one who sees hope to make his family whole, or the coward who only see the world through his own fear?"

"I haven't cared about anything for centuries. Why on earth do you?"

"Because I failed you. Because the first time our father laid a hand on you, I should have struck him dead. I made a promise to you: always, forever, family above all."

Klaus laughed and offered his brother his hand. Elijah took his hand and stood up. "You are a sentimental fool."

"Perhaps. But I've lasted this long in spite of it, haven't I? And Niklaus, you care about this girl and you will care about this child. In a couple of months you will regret letting them both die, and I will make sure you don't have to feel that regret."

* * *

"He's willing to give up everything."

_"Come on, Elijah, does that really surprise you?"_

"I already see it. He's spiralling. He's lashing out in blind rage. You know, the last time I saw him like this it lasted two hundred years."

_"Then leave him to his temper tantrum and come home. With any luck this misadventure will allow us a reprieve from all of his insanity. "_

"He was so close. When he heard the baby's heartbeat, I could see it in his eyes. He... he wanted... he could almost taste happiness. And now his temper has destroyed it. Even if I was to return him to sanity, he just lost Marcel's trust. So, I'm almost out of time to get the girl. "

_"Get her? Have you lost her mind? Are we running an orphanage now?"_

"Say what you will about Niklaus, but on my life I'm not letting anything happen to the girl or that baby."

* * *

Elijah joined Klaus as he sat on the bench. "Are you here to give me another pep talk on the joys of fatherhood?" Klaus said.

"I've said all I needed to say."

"I forgot how much I liked this town," he said, looking around.

"I didn't forget. All the centuries we've spent together, and yet I can count on one hand the number of times that our family has been truly happy. I hated leaving here."

"As did I," Klaus said softly.

"What is on your mind, brother?"

"For a thousand years, I lived in fear. Any time I settled anywhere, our father would hunt me down and... chase me off. He made me feel powerless, and I hated it. This town was my home once, and in my absence, Marcel has gotten everything that I ever wanted. Power, loyalty, family. I made him in my image and he has bettered me. I want what he has. I want to be king."

"And what of Lucy and the baby?"

Klaus smiled. "Every king needs an heir."

"So is that all this child means to you? A grab for power?" Elijah asked his brother, somewhat disgusted.

"What does it mean to you?

"I think this child could offer you the one thing that you've never believed you had."

"And what's that?" Klaus inquired.

"The unconditional love of family."

He didn't reply for quite a while, but when he finally did, Elijah was delighted with what he said.

"Tell Sophie Deveraux we have a deal."

* * *

The house Elijah brought Lucy to was huge. She pulled a sheet off a crib and the dust caused her to cough.

"Are you alright?" Elijah asked, coming into the room.

"Just dust. This place looks biblical."

Elijah laughed. "Yes. It should serve our purposes. It's a sanctuary from our business in the Quarter. Right now, you are the most important person in this family. You need a good home. So I'm curious... in all this time, has anyone asked you how you feel?"

"About having a miracle, vampire-werewolf-witch baby?"

"About being a mother," he countered.

Lucy thought about it for a second. Everyone had been so preoccupied with getting Klaus to co-opperate, not that she expected any of the witches to give her the mother-daughter talk.

"My real mom gave me and Elena up and my adoptive mother drowned... But she was a good mom. She read me to sleep, sung me to me and raised me to be who I am. She's the woman I'll always call 'mom'. But I feel like I'm alone in this. I don't have my mom to tell me what to expect, even if she was here I'd still be scared... nobody has ever been pregnant with a hybrid baby before. There's no 'what to expect when you're expecting a miracle vampire baby' handbook." She laughed softly.

"I will always protect you. You have my word on that," Elijah promised.

Lucy smiled at him.

"And noble Elijah always keeps his word," Klaus stated from the doorway.

"Is it done?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Your underhanded deal worked quite well. Marcel was only too happy to accept my blood even as he accepted my heartfelt apologies. His man, Thierry, yet lives and I remain a welcome guest in the French Quarter. My only concern now is this coven of impudent witches."

"I believe them to be honorable. They did release Lucy to me. Although, they haven't been entirely forthcoming. Marcel obviously has something that they need. They don't want him dead. There must be a reason why."

Lucy looked between both of them. She was being thrown into a city at war while being pregnant with a miracle baby. She couldn't stay here. There were things going on at home... she had to go back.

"While you two try to figure out the witches' plans, I have to get back home." Elijah raised an eyebrow and Klaus was about object. "My sister has no humanity, there's a psychotic immortal on the loose and you expect me to just drop all of that, move to New Orleans and play happy families? Don't worry, I'll come back. I'm not stupid. I know what's best for this baby."

Klaus nodded, albeit slightly reluctant. "I'll come with you."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Alright then."

* * *

_**A/N: I just thought I'd change the POV for this chapter. Did you like it? Should I keep it to First Person POV?**_

_**Review!**_


	21. Fall to Pieces

_Fall to Pieces_

The news still came as a shock to me. I had to resist the urge to clutch my stomach at every passing moment. Klaus went straight to his house, going to pack. What could I tell them? Everything was going right for me here. I had no reason to pick up and take off.

There were two people who deserved to know; Elena and Stefan. I'd tell Elena when she got her humanity back, right now she'd just ridicule me. Stefan... I just felt as if I owed it to him to tell him. I didn't want too many people knowing. More than a thousand people wanted to get one up on Klaus, what better way than to harm the one thing he seemed to care about?

"You're back." I smiled and spun around to see Stefan. "Where have you been?"

"New Orleans," I replied. He shot me a questioning glance. "Held hostage by a coven of crazy witches... you know, the usual. But I'm fine now."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Uh... I know you probably don't care much for Elena right now, but if you have any ideas..."

"I might have one," I said.

"Oh?"

I nodded. "Just go with it and don't you _dare _try to intervene."

He held his hands up in defense. "I won't, I won't." Stefan grinned. "It's good to have you back. And she's in the cellar."

Smiling, I walked past him and down to the Salvatore cellar. Elena sat in the corner, hugging her knees to her chest.

Elena's gaze shot up to meet mine. "Lucy? Is that you?" she asked hopefully. "I'm so hungry... please... just a little blood. I'll be good. I think I'm getting my humanity back."

She was lying, I could tell. Her eyes were cold and empty, where as real Elena's eyes were warm and caring, not that Elena was a saint. She certainly wasn't.

"You're not." I opened up the cell door. Elena immediately tried to attack me, using the remainder of her vampire speed. I sent her flying back to the wall. "Point proven."

"Come to get my humanity back?" she scoffed. "You're just like Stefan and Damon, they think I can be saved. They're wrong... and so are you."

"Oh? Am I? The night our parents died - you cried yourself to sleep and then, when you finally got to sleep, you had nightmares about them blaming you for their death."

Something flashed in her eyes, but she quickly covered it. "_Nothing_. How's Klaus? Has he finally ruffled those perfect feathers?"

I glared at her. Time to delve a little deeper. "You know, I wanted to get the cure for you so Dad wouldn't have to watch you become the one thing he hated the most - a vampire. You think he would be proud of you? Or that Mom would be? They'd be disgusted with you." A look of sadness crossed her face, but she straightened it quickly. "Jeremy would be too, if he didn't die so you could get that stupid cure."

"Stop," Elena begged, her voice barely a whisper.

But I couldn't stop, I was getting somewhere. Stefan was glancing between me and Elena, worried. "And so am I. Everyone I love dies because of you and your selfish needs that always seem to come first." I approached her. It felt good to let it all out while disguising it as wanting to help her. Everything I was saying... it was true, and that made me sad. "You just had to miss family night. You just had to fall in love with vampire-brothers and string them along. You just had to have the cure." I stretched my arm out towards Elena, tightening the muscles in my hand. She cried out in pain as I muttered a spell. "And now, I'm going to get revenge for everything you've done to ruin this family."

"Lucy-" Stefan started.

"Shut up, Stefan," I growled, annoyed that he kept on trying to save her.

Damon was now standing beside him, his eyes widened. "What the hell?" he exclaimed. "She's your sister!"

"She's a monster," I snapped. "She ruins things. She's the reason they're all dead, and she's gonna pay for it."

Blood trickled down her nose and then her chin before dripping onto the floor. She began to cry tears of blood. There was even blood coming out her ears. She choked and coughed before spurting out more blood. It felt... _good_. I wanted Elena to hurt like I had. She didn't get to be free of the pain when I suffered through it. She didn't deserve two brothers pining over her.

It sickened me that there was a part of me that wanted to go through with it, to kill my own sister. This was a nightmare! I wanted to stop, but the darkness swallowed me in, whispering for me to kill my own sister.

"Lucy, you're going to kill her," Stefan warned, his voice was soft. "Can you live with that guilt? It will tear you up inside. Let go."

I clenched my fist and Elena screamed out in anguish. _Let go. _This wasn't me. I never contemplated sororicide before.

Loosening my fist, I stepped away from Elena and practically teared out of the cellar, ignoring Stefan as he called after me.

* * *

Summer exams were coming up and unfortunately, being pregnant with a supernatural miracle baby and having an immortal psychopath after your friends wasn't sufficient enough for a postponement. _Go figure_.

I had to deal with a supernatural freak pregnancy (not that the baby was a freak... that'd be unmotherly of me to say) while studying for exams. Not exactly your average cliché.

Morning sickness was a bitch. Every ten minutes, I had to rush to the bathroom to empty the last few things I ate. I felt dizzy and tired constantly. The baby didn't like porridge.

Sophie gave me my magic back on the condition that I'd go back to New Orleans. It wasn't like she was giving me much choice, because if I didn't, she and her coven of psycho witches would come after me.

I really didn't have time to be studying math and French, but if I wanted to be a doctor, I needed to do _extremely _well in my tests. Especially science.

There was a knock on the bedroom door. "Come in!"

Caroline walked through the door. I didn't take my eyes off the history book I was studying from.

"Wow, you get down to it," she observed, grinning.

There were open books scattered all around the bed. My pencil case sat on the other pillow, ready to be used.

"Well, unlike the rest of you people, I don't have an eternity to get my degree," I said.

"I could compel you into a college," she suggested. "Whitmore? Or are you a Harvard girl?"

I laughed and shot her a small glare. "Neither. I think I'm gonna move to New Orleans."

The playfulness fell from her face. "_New Orleans_?" she gaped. "Why do you want to go to New Orleans?"

Should I tell her? Caroline wouldn't tell a soul... except for Bonnie, Elena and, of course, Stefan. Maybe I should tell them all. I needed to talk to someone about this.

I bit my lip. "If I tell you something, you have to promise you won't tell a soul," I said.

She did the 'zip my mouth and throw away the key' gesture. "I won't."

"Not even Stefan." She didn't say anything. "_Caroline_."

"Fine. Not even Stefan."

I smiled. "I - um - I'm kind of pregnant."

Her eyes widened. "_What_?" She glanced to my stomach and listened to it, which a lot of people were doing lately. "Who's is it?" Caroline didn't take her eyes off my abdomen.

"Klaus'."

"But that's impossible. Klaus can't have children! He's a vampire!"

"I know, but apparently his werewolf side lets him father children, which would be great to know before I got knocked-up."

A smile slowly graced her features and she squeeled. "Oh my God! You're pregnant!" She gripped my hands and pulled me up from the bed, spinning me around. "I'm going to be an aunty!"

I laughed. "No... I think Elena's the aunt."

"We've been sisters our whole lives," she said. "I'm so taking the aunt-role with that child. Especially if Elena's still in bitch-mode."

I rolled my eyes good-naturedly. "Fine, but Rebekah seems like aunt-material."

Caroline looked thoughtful and tilted her head. "Actually, she does." The mood sobered up once again. "You know you have to tell them. Stefan-"

"I'll tell him."

"Bonnie-" I was about to object. "She's been your best friend since forever! You have to tell her! She'd make a great godmother. And Matt-"

"Doesn't need to know," I finished.

"Elena?"

"Once she gets her humanity back."

"Tyler?" she asked softly.

I shook my head. "I couldn't. He hates Klaus."

She nodded slowly. "I get that one. Damon?"

"I might actually consider," I said. "If he didn't make a freaking joke out of everything."

"I think you should tell them all," she suggested. "We could call a team-meeting."

Rolling my eyes, I sighed. "Maybe, but don't you dare tell anyone any of this before I'm ready, Caroline Forbes!"

She laughed. "I won't. You must be excited."

I sat back down on the bed. "A little, but mostly scared. No one has ever been pregnant with a hybrid-witch baby before. And I really don't want to leave here."

"Then don't," she said, sitting down in front of me. "We'll protect you. Stefan would die for you, Lucy. Even Damon... he might even have a soft spot for babies!"

"Probably not," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Just _stay_," she begged.

I shook my head. "The witches in New Orleans said that I had to go back. I'm linked to one of the witches - Sophie Deveraux and anyway, I promised I'd go back. Elijah thinks that this is Klaus' one shot of redemption, who am I to take it away?"

"So your just going to drop everything and run off to New Orleans?" she asked, looking sad.

"Pretty much," I said, nodding.

She wrapped her arms around me. "Promise me you'll visit."

I patted her back. "I can't promise, but I'll try." It came out muffled. "Uh... Caroline? You're kind of strangling me."

She laughed as she released me. "Sorry. I'm just gonna miss you so much."

"And I'll call you everyday," I promised. "It's going to be like I never left."

* * *

Downstairs, I saw Rebekah holding a brown paper bag. As soon as she noticed me, her eyes went to my stomach and listened. I'd actually like to hear my baby's heartbeat, since all of those vampires were super-hearing it.

She gasped when she heard it. "This is impossible."

"Tell me about it." My hand went to my stomach.

"And you haven't slept with anyone else in the past six months other than my brother?" she asked accusingly.

I scoffed. "Does it look like I'd lie about being pregnant with a miracle child? We can do a paternity test once it's born if you want."

People seemed to forget that my eyes were on my face, as their eyes immediately went to my abdomen. There wasn't a bump yet, not even a small bulge. I wondered if this baby would be like _Twilight's _miracle baby. I hoped not, since I didn't want to drink blood to keep it happy, or for it to age faster than normal.

Rebekah shook her head, still in wonderment. "I trust you." She smiled slightly. "It's amazing."

I laughed. "Not so amazing when you're up all night, barfing up your dinner."

"I'd give anything to have what you have," she said. "A baby."

"I'd be more than happy to swap, but unfortunately - we can't."

Rebekah sighed, shook her head and took out a takeout box from the brown bag. Caroline and Matt came into the living room.

"Hi. I don't mean to interfere. It's just, I happen to know all they keep in this house is blood and booze, so I brought a peace offering. Burgers?"

Matt smiled as he took the box. "Thanks."

"Yeah, we can't really entertain right now, but thanks for stopping by," Caroline spat.

"I think I might stay. I've seen quite a few pregnancies in my day-"

"Rebekah!" I shrieked, looking from Matt to Caroline and back to Rebekah. "He didn't need to know that!"

"You're pregnant?" Matt asked. I nodded sheepishly. "Who's the dad?"

"Eh..." I tried thinking of humans. Any human... but none of them were believable. So I decided to answer honestly. He'd find out in a couple of years anyway, when I came home for Christmas with a baby in a stroller. "Klaus."

"K-_Klaus_?" he stammered. "But he can't-"

"Actually, he can," I answered. "Half-werewolf, werewolves can have children. I slept with him... and ta da!" I pointed to my stomach. "Miracle baby."

Caroline glared at Rebekah. "You don't need to worry. Lucy's perfectly fine. I've even brought a pregnancy book." She held up a book with a pregnant woman on the cover. I reddened and looked at my feet. "So you really can go now."

"That's actually not the only reason I'm here." She smiled shyly. "Matt mentioned that he was failing classes and needed a study buddy."

Matt was failing? He never said anything to me.

"You're failing? Wh- why didn't you ask me to help you study?" Caroline stammered. "Or Lucy, I mean, she's a walking encyclopedia!"

"Well, I didn't exactly ask her."

"Well, what classes are you failing?" Caroline asked.

"I'm not failing, I'm just... really, really behind in history... and Italian, and math..."

"Matt!" Caroline and I scolded.

"This year's been a little distracting," Matt said.

Oh yes, it really was. I felt sorry for Matt. He had to keep up a job, pay the bills, play sports _and _keep up his grades while being a human involved in supernatural business.

"We could all help," Rebekah suggested. "All hands on deck - that's the motto around here, right?"

_Only to help Elena_, I thought. Everyone else could go screw themselves basically.

"We don't have a motto." She turned to Matt. "Look, if you need to study, we're gonna study. I'm gonna go home and I'm gonna get my flash cards, and my study guides, and some energy bars. This is gonna be good."

Caroline gave us two thumbs up before placing the book and the table and leaving.

"You dated that?" Rebekah said to Matt.

"She likes projects."

Matt looked at my stomach. I took the book off the table and wrapped my arms around my abdomen.

"Hey. Eyes up here, buddy."

* * *

I placed a flower on Jeremy's grave. _Brother and Friend_, was inscribed on the stone. This was all that was left of him. I regretted burning down the house with Jeremy's body inside. Bonnie had gave out to me for not letting her say goodbye. It was selfish, but that house was full with memories that I didn't want.

"I can't even remember the last thing I said to you. Probably something like 'get that cure' or maybe even just 'goodbye'." I let out a small laugh. "I've been avoiding your grave. Because it hurts, Jeremy. The last time I felt like this was when Mom and Dad died. With Jenna and John and Alaric... I never accepted that they were gone until now. I used to think that the best way to deal with grief was ignoring it, pretending like it wasn't there, but I can't do that with you." I choked on my sobs as tears streamed down my face. "You're my-my baby brother. I n-need you, now more than e-ever. Is it bad that I... I want Bonnie to d-drop the veil so that I can have you and Ric back? Am I being selfish? Everyone I l-love is dead, Jer. Everyone. And I nearly killed Elena! _Elena_! My twin sister! She's all that I have left. Her and... and the baby. I'm sure you know by now. You're probably watching over us, w-watching as we make mistakes. If it's a boy, I'll be sure to call it Jeremy." Smiling through the tears, I wiped my eyes. "And I'll tell it all about it's crazy uncle Jeremy. I miss you so much, Jer. Out of everyone, your death has been the hardest. I want you back so bad."

More tears streamed down my cheeks from my eyes. I put my hand to my mouth in an attempt to muffle the sobs. My baby brother... he was gone. Unless we were willing to drop the veil to the other side, which - when I was being sensible - I didn't want to do.

"I love you, Jer."

I felt strong arms engulf me in a hug. I cried into his chest. _Jenna, Alaric, John, Jeremy, Mom, Dad _- all dead and I was alone.

But I wasn't. For the next nine months, I would never be alone. There was another family member growing inside of me. I wasn't alone.

"Hey, hey," Stefan soothed. "It's okay."

I laughed quietly. "You'll always be here to comfort me, won't you?"

But his face was stern. "Always," he whispered.

"There all dead," I whimpered, shaking. "_Dead_. And there not coming back."

He stroked my hair gently. "But you have me. You have Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, even Damon cares about you. And Klaus... I think he's in love with you."

I edged away from Stefan, not taking my eyes off him. "I didn't tell you the whole reason about why I was in New Orleans."

"Katherine said something about you being the thing we needed to get Klaus out of town," he told me.

"Not me, exactly. A baby."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why does Klaus care about a baby?"

"Because it's his." I shut my eyes, not wanting to see his reaction. "And mine."

"You're pregnant with Klaus' child?" he asked, slightly amused. "Vampires can't have children."

I sighed. It was getting tiring having to explain the same thing over and over again.

"But Klaus is a werewolf too," I said. "And they can have children, so he can as well. And we slept together-" I noticed Stefan wince slightly. "-and I got knocked up. A witch in New Orleans - Sophie Deveraux - had a vision about me and this baby. She kidnapped me and they did some really freaky tests. And then she linked us together, so if I don't come back, she'll either kill me by killing herself or drag me back there."

"This sounds like a bad soap opera," Stefan muttered.

I nodded. "It really does."

Slowly, he reached out his hand to touch my stomach. I looked at him oddly, but allowed him to anyway. His hand touched my abdomen and his eyes widened.

"You really are pregnant," he said. "Wow."

"With a hybrid baby, no less," I said. "I'm leaving for New Orleans after graduation." Stefan opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. "I'm going to go to college there. I know where I'm supposed to be. Klaus and Elijah will protect me and this baby."

"We can protect you," Stefan insisted.

I shook my head. "You can't. Witches will have visions about the baby, then word will get out and people will come after it. Who better to protect this child than two Originals?"

"I'll come with you," Stefan said. I opened my mouth to tell him no. "It's not like I have anything left for me here. After we get Elena's humanity back, I'll go to New Orleans. You'll need a friend there."

"Elena might have no humanity for centuries," I said. "There's no time-limit."

"We can get it back. And now, I have another motive. I'm coming with you, Lucy."

I smiled at him. "Fine."

* * *

"There's another way to get Elena's humanity back," Damon said, downing another glass of tequila.

Elena had just escaped and we were trying to figure out a way to save her.

"And what's that?" I asked, watching him warily.

"There's two things in this world that no humanity Elena cares about," he explained. "The busboy, Matt, and her sister. Take them away and _bam! _We have old Elena back."

I shook my head. "No. Not an option. I'm not gonna die so that Elena can get her humanity back."

And there was no way my unborn child was going to die with me.

Damon rolled his eyes. "I'll feed you some of my blood before I even touch a hair on your head."

Stefan's face brightened in realisation when I was about to yell at Damon. "You mightn't need to." His eyes drifted to my stomach.

The elder Salvatore looked between the both of us. "Am I missing something?"

I groaned. "No. You are not missing anything. _Stefan_," I warned.

"What the hell's going on with you two?" Damon pressed. Neither of us answered. "Did you two hook up in the woods, or something?"

My head snapped over towards him, my eyes narrowed. "No. We did not hook up in the woods." Stefan sniggered. "Shut up. All that you need to know, Damon, is that I'm _not _allowing you to kill me. I'll come with you, Matt'll wear the ring and I'll try and coax some humanity out of Elena. Deal?"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine."

* * *

I rushed over to Elena, who was feeding off Matt. I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from him, which was odd, since Elena was a vampire and a hundred times stronger than me.

She was letting me pull her away from him. Elena didn't want to feed off him.

"What's up with you and saving me?" she growled. "We both know you prefer things like this. If I want Stefan when I turn my humanity back on, he'll come running back to me and he'll forget all about you. Do you really want that? Or has Klaus stole you away?" She laughed sardonically. "Your love triangle is almost as interesting as mine. _Almost_."

Elena gripped my shoulders and slammed me against a tree. Her finger traced the vein on my neck. "I'm so freakin' hungry."

I was trembling and shocked. I really shouldn't have expected any less from Elena.

"Are you gonna kill me?" I asked, keeping my voice steady. "Your sister - your last living relative."

"Yes." She groaned, looking at my neck. "But not before I ask you something. Why do you want to save my humanity?"

"We're sisters," I said.

Elena scoffed. "Hardly."

She bit down on my neck. I'd stop her soon, I decided. That's if Elena didn't stop herself.

I didn't anticipate how weak I'd get. It was like my life was slipping away from me - as was my ability to do magic.

I sunk to the ground as Elena let go of me.

"Hey, hey, you're cut off." I heard Stefan say.

"Come to rescue your new Petrova epic love, Stefan?" Elena spat.

"Enough! You are acting like a little spoiled brat, you know that? You think that we can't punish you. Maybe not. But I can sure punish him," Damon's growling voice said.

"Elena," Matt whispered weakly. .

"Seriously? You think this-"

"Shut up! I'm done playing nice. Turn your emotions back on right now, Elena, or so help me god, I will give you something to be sad about. I will kill him right here in front of you."

"Damon." Stefan was surprisingly good at pretending.

"Don't 'Damon' me. She doesn't love anyone? Fine. Prove it. And if I'm wrong, what difference does it make? One less busboy."

Matt had the Gilbert ring on him. "Elena," he begged.

There was a small silence. I recovered, but stayed sitting against the trunk.

"You're bluffing," Elena accused.

Damon snapped Matt's neck. Elena's gasped. "How about now? You feel anything now? You angry I just turned your buddy into roadkill? Or are you sad that the guy that everybody loves is just a bag of bones? Remember when he was a little kid, huh? Warm heart, big goofy smile, his whole life ahead of him. I guess it was a good idea that he was wearing this."

Damon kneeled down and lifted Matt's hand. He was wearing the ring. Elena fell to her knees and grasped Matt's hand. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Oh my god. Matt!"

"You feel that weight lifting off your chest? That's joy, because your friend isn't dead. That's emotion, Elena. That's humanity," Damon explained. "You're gonna be okay."

"No..."

I stood up and stood next to Stefan. He clasped my hand and squeezed it reassuringly. I looked up at him, shock etched on my face.

"Look at me," Damon said to Elena.

"No, no, no. It's not okay," she sobbed.

"_Elena._"

Elena stood up. "What have I done?"

"Hey, it's okay."

Elena was pacing and clutched her head. "No, no. What did I do? I-I almost killed him; Matt, I almost... _Lucy_! You're my sister... and I- And Bonnie, and Caroline, I just-" She pushed Damon away when he tried to put an arm around her. "No, no, I mean, that woman, the waitress, I actually killed that waitress-" Stefan moved towards her. I wasn't expecting this... I wasn't expecting it to get this bad. "No, I killed that waitress!"

She punched the window of Matt's truck, breaking the glass. Stefan held Elena's hands in front of her.

"Hey, hey, look at me, look at me. I know this stage, okay? The emotions are overwhelming you. You just have to focus on one thing, okay?" Stefan said.

"No, I can't, I can't-"

"You just find that one thing inside of you that makes you strong. It's in there, just latch onto it. Channel everything you're feeling into that one emotion. Find the thing inside of you that makes you wanna live. Elena, let it in. Let it in." She found a focus and stopped sobbing. "That's good. That's it. That's it, just breathe it in. Blow everything else out. That's good, that's good."

She yelled in pain, gripping the hair on her head. Damon reached towards her.

"You okay?"

"No. I'm not okay. But I'll get better."

We stared after her as she left. I felt a little resentment. I was getting through this all by myself, with a little help from Stefan and Caroline, and Klaus without even me or him knowing it. I killed twelve witches and I didn't need two brothers to chase after me and save me. But everything came down to Elena. _Everything_.

Stefan wrapped an arm around me and held me against his chest. His chin rested on my forehead. "Are you okay?"

I nodded as I snuggled into him. "I'm okay."

Damon eyed us curiously, before storming off to chase after Elena.

"We need to talk," he said.

I broke away from the hug. "About what?"

"This- us," he answered. "There's something... here."

"Stefan-" I started.

"I know this is not the time with the... the baby. But I need to know." He grabbed my hands in his, his eyes not leaving mine. "Is there something... something in you that feels for me."

This felt wrong. It felt like I was betraying Klaus and - in some strange sense - the baby that I wasn't even sure I loved. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought of getting rid of it. The witches would lose their leverage.

Klaus wouldn't be too happy with Stefan in New Orleans. There 'friendship' was kind of strained now.

It was nice, being the centre of attention for once. All my life I had been pushed aside in favour of Elena, but now, two guys - quite good-looking, might I add - cared about me. And that... that felt nice. But I wasn't Katherine, or Elena, even if I felt something for both of them, which I did. Klaus was dangerous and alluring, while Stefan was kind and loving and had a great sense of humour that he only showed some people.

But right now, I didn't want any of it.

"There's something here," I said. "Definately. But I can't. Not now, Stefan. I'm confused... so damn confused. I think... I think the only reason I'm having this baby is because Elijah wants Klaus to have his redemption - his humanity - and I don't want to take that away from them." I sighed. "And us - you and me - we can't happen. Not because of Klaus or anything to do with him, but because it's toxic. I'm not sure if you're into me for me or because I look similar to Elena. And I don't want to find out."

"I don't-"

"You say that, but I'm not stupid. You're still in love with her... if love even exists. Maybe you should stay here." He opened his mouth to speak. "I can protect myself, Stefan, but Elena and Damon need you. Caroline needs you."

"Damon and Elena have each other."

I shook my head. "You're more important than you think, Stefan."

He stepped closer to me. "I'm coming with you."

I sighed. "Fine. If you insist on being so stubborn."

Stefan tucked a lose strand of hair behind my ear. "I learnt from the best." He pressed his lips onto mine. It was soft... delicate. He was gentle, as if he was afraid to break me. He pulled back, looking for my permission to continue.

I grinned and smashed my lips onto his and wrapped my arms around him. This was wrong... this was so wrong. But was there any right in my life? The only good thing was Stefan. I didn't want him to leave me.

I broke the kiss and smiled. "You are so coming with me to New Orleans."

* * *

_**A/N: Reviews are like cookies! Love you guys!**_


	22. Thinking of You

_Thinking of You_

"Stamp, please." I tore off a stamp and gave it to Caroline. "Thank you."

"You don't have to pretend to be nice to me, Caroline. I know this is just a ploy to keep me distracted." She sighed heavily.

Everything had to be about her, didn't it?

Caroline looked at our two graduation letters. "You're done? I'm only on my second batch."

I held up my one letter. "We have family friends in Denver. Everyone else is either six feet under or doesn't care that we're graduating."

"And to be honest, neither do I," Elena said.

"Look, Elena, Lucy felt the same way a couple of months ago. She got over it and once you get through this hating Katherine phase-"

My doppelganger twin jumped up. "Wait, do you know where Katherine is?" Elena pressed.

"No. Why would I know where she is?" Caroline defended, slightly frightened.

"Yeah, but, Caroline, if you did, you would tell me, right?"

The blonde vampire sighed. "Elena, you're obsessing."

Elena gripped Caroline's hand. The former Miss Mystic Falls' eyes widened as she watched Elena warily.

"Caroline, listen to me, if you know where Katherine is then you have to tell me."

Caroline ripped her hand out of Elena's grip. "I don't, Elena. Chill."

The doppelganger turned to me. "Do you know? You'd tell me, wouldn't you? I mean - you want her dead as much as I do!"

"I did," I admitted. "But every moment I wasted on hating Katherine, I was just giving her the satisfaction. And she's five hundred years older than, Elena. You have no chance."

Elena groaned. "That's what Stefan said." She pursed her lips tightly and eyed me, expecting me to speak. "What's up with you two?"

I coughed and choked on my coffee. "What do you mean?"

"I _mean _you two are really close. I don't want you to get hurt."

I knitted my eyebrows together in confusion. "Why would I get hurt?"

She gave me a sympathetic look. "He's still into me. Stefan's using you to get over me."

My blood boiled and I clenched my fist. It wasn't like I hadn't enough insecurity problems to begin with.

I stood up and finished off the rest of the coffee. "I actually preferred you when you had no humanity. At least you weren't as much of a self-centered, whiny bitch."

* * *

The most common websites on my browser history were pregnancy ones. I bought a pregnancy test, which came out positive. I kind of wanted that motherly-knocked-up-teenager experience of freaking out when you see the green. Of course, my moment was ruined by a coven of psycho witches.

I stood in front of the mirror and lifted up my top to see the bump. There was a small bulge, not noticable yet. I placed my hand on my stomach. Was it bad that I didn't love the baby? It felt like I was just a human-incubator for Klaus' child. And it wasn't like Klaus was going to be a great dad. He had severe anger issues, but I had seen the kinder side of him. The side I hoped he'd show his child.

Some people might feel honoured that they're carrying the first pure-blooded hybrid, but I wasn't. I wanted a normal teenage life. I wanted to go to college with Elena, Bonnie and Caroline, not go to New Orleans as a body host for a tribrid.

There was a university - in New Orleans. Caroline said that she'd compel me a place there. Out of everyone that knew, Caroline was being the most supportive. Stefan was ignoring me... whatever his reason was. Klaus hadn't even called me! Nor had Elijah, which was odd considering his desire for the child and Klaus' redemption.

"What are you doing?"

I pulled down my top and turned around. Elena was leaning against the wall. "Nothing."

Her forehead creased. "It doesn't look like nothing. You were staring... at your stomach."

I laughed uneasily. "I think I'm getting fat." It wasn't a lie - not completely.

"You're not fat." She smiled at me. "I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean it."

Shaking my head, I smiled back at her. "It's okay. And... I don't really prefer you without your humanity."

"I know that." She took a deep breath and sighed. "Damon just called. Bonnie's at the high school to connect the three massacres. We need to stop her. You coming?"

With one last glance at my reflection - more specifically my stomach - I nodded. "Of course."

* * *

Damon and Stefan's car parked up outside the school. The storm was still fierce, so we had to shout to be heard.

"Where's Caroline?" Stefan shouted.

"Inside looking for Bonnie," Elena yelled. "I think we should split up. Damon and I can look outside while you, Lucy and Caroline look inside."

Stefan looked at the two of them suspiciously. I pursed my lips. "All right, let me know if you find anything."

We headed into the school to look for Caroline. Stefan didn't speak to me. Just before we went into the cafeteria, I gripped his wrist and pulled him back.

"What's up?" I asked him.

He put on his best 'I have no idea whats going on' face. "Nothing's 'up'."

I rolled my eyes. "You say you're going to New Orleans, then we kiss and now you're ignoring me. Something's _definitely _up."

"Maybe I'm having take-backs."

I let go of his wrist, as if it burnt me. "What?"

"Maybe I don't want to go to New Orleans and watch Klaus play happy families," Stefan said, almost snappishly.

"I never asked you to! You offered!" I replied through gritted teeth. "_God_! Who do you think you are? You're making it sound like I'm forcing you to go!"

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Would you hate me if I didn't go?"

I was disappointed, and hurt. Was this because of Elena? Did he want to stay with her? It would always be Elena.

"Depends... what's your reason?"

"I want to leave all this behind," he said. "Mystic Falls... everything that happened here. I want to have a new life."

Tears welled up in my eyes. I blinked them away. _God! _What the hell was wrong with me? I didn't _cry_! Stupid pregnancy!

I laughed as I wiped my eyes. "No. I get it. I want you to be happy, Stefan. Even if it's not with me."

He cupped my cheeks in his hands. "Maybe I'll find you again."

Smiling, I replied. "Maybe you will."

I pulled away from him and we entered the cafeteria, where Caroline was.

"Hey, there you are. Any luck?" Stefan asked.

"I searched the whole school. She should be here," Caroline answered. Something felt off about her... usually, she'd give me a wink when I walked in with Stefan. I shrugged it off. There was a noise of something breaking. "What was that?"

We stepped over to the kitchens, slowly and cautiously. Caroline approached the freezer and gripped the handle. She slowly opened it, revealing a bag of melting ice. It's water was dripping onto the floor.

"Hm. Ice is melting," Stefan commented.

Caroline shut the freezer door.

"Ugh. It just doesn't make any sense. This is the center of the triangle. If she's gonna do the spell, she has to do it here. This is where they should be!" Caroline exclaimed.

I shook my head. "We're in the right place. Right, Stefan?"

He looked distracted as he shun the flashlight onto where the water from the ice went down the drain. "We're in the right place. Just the wrong elevation."

* * *

She vamp-speeds over to Katherine, pulls her up and slams her face against a hot pipe. Katherine shouts in pain as it burns her face. In the cave, Bonnie shouts in pain as her face burns, too. She writhes on the ground, gasping and yelling, when Stefan and Caroline rush into the chamber.]

Bonnie's screams echoed through the hall as we rushed into the chamber she was in. The flesh on her face was burning as she fell to the ground, yelling and breathing heavily.

"Oh, God! Bonnie!" I ran over to her and kneeled beside her. "What happened?"

"Katherine. Find Katherine. We're linked," Bonnie gasped.

"Then unlink her!" Caroline said. She turned to Stefan. "You go, we'll stay with Bonnie." Stefan looked to me and I nodded. He rushed off.

Bonnie did the unlinking spell without even speaking. Expression didn't require you to speak since the witch was so powerful.

Once she did the spell, Caroline crouched down to Bonnie. "Bonnie, are you okay?"

"Yeah, now that I unlinked her," Bonnie said.

We helped Bonnie up. "What are you doing down here?"

"Waiting for Qetsiyah."

"You might be waiting a while."

Caroline disappeared and Silas popped up behind Bonnie. "What the hell!" I gasped.

"Qetsiyah isn't coming, Bonnie."

"Silas. But - I saw Caroline. How? I thought you couldn't get inside my head!" Bonnie exclaimed.

I backed up against the wall. "That's what I wanted you to think. I can make you see whatever I want you to see. Am I a disfigured monster?"

He circled Bonnie, changing forms.

"Of course not. The monster is what I wanted you to see," Stefan/Silas said. He changed into Caroline. "That's the beauty of all this. You have no idea who I am." Then back to Stefan. "Or what I look like." He disorted into the monster that he was. "Or how deep I am inside of your head." Silas turned to Stefan. "You thought that you were more powerful than me?" He changed to me. Is that really what my hair looked like from the back? "I am stronger than you can imagine. I defeated the Hunter's Curse in minutes. You thought that you could betray me? You can't. I will always be one. Step. Ahead."

"Go _away_," I spat.

I - Silas - smiled. Was this what it was like for Elena having a doppelganger? "Gladly...once the witch finishes the spell. Then, when the veil is dropped completely, I can take the cure.

Caroline pulled the cure out of her pocket. "I just want to pass on, Bonnie. I'll even let you kill me. I'll be out of your life for good."

"But every dead supernatural creature will be roaming the earth."

"Well, if you don't help me, _I'll _be roaming the earth."

"I was never gonna drop the veil," Bonnie admitted.

Silas/Me laughed. "I'm curious: what was your plan? Pow-wow with Qetsiyah? Brainstorm ways to put me down? Qetsiyah's not coming. She wants me on the Other Side with her - for eternity."

"Bonnie? Bonnie?" Damon's voice called.

Silas smirked. "That sounds familiar."

His voice changed into Alaric's before turning into my old guardian. "Maybe Damon will convince you."

"I won't let you-" Bonnie started.

"You won't let me what?" Alaric/Silas asked.

Suddenly, it felt like the air was being sucked out of the room. I fell to the ground, wheezing and gasping for breath.

"You see that, Bonnie? The air thinning... barely enough to breathe," Silas/Alaric said. "I doubt you'll leave your friend in a time like this."

He chuckled and left the chamber with the flashlight.

* * *

I was winded. It felt like I was slipping away. "Come on, Lucy. Fight this."

Gasping for breath, my voice was hoarse. "I can't, Bonnie."

Her eyes filled with tears. "You're stronger than this."

"She's right."

Bonnie turned around. Her Grams had a very recognisable voice.

Sheila Bennett stood in front me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "This isn't real, Bonnie. Feel the air in your lungs. Break through-"

I shoved her away. "Silas."

"Would Silas try to save your life? Now breathe, child."The air coursed through my lungs as I took a deep breath. I smiled at her and she smiled back. "There."

"Thank you," I said, standing up.

Bonnie and her Grams embraced. "I - I was so worried about you."

"I know, but I'm okay." They both pulled away from the hug. "I've been watching over you. And you too." She turned to me, her eyes fell on my stomach. "Can't say you made all good decisions." I laughed nervously. "But you've grown into a powerful witch in your own right."

"Thanks."

"I messed up. I'm sorry," Bonnie said. "I dropped the veil and-"

"You can still stop Silas," Sheila said.

"No, I can't. Qetsiyah was able to immobilize him so he couldn't feed and get into people's heads. I don't know how to do that. I don't know how to put him down," Bonnie admitted.

"You can do that. Expression is the manifestation of your will. You could do anything. I don't like it, but sometimes there are no choices. But you are strong enough. You can do this."

* * *

"Witches talk on the Other Side," Grams said after Bonnie left. "Of the baby you carry."

"I suppose it's nothing good," I huffed.

She shook her head. "No. Witches have never liked an imbalance in nature. Too much relies on that child. If it turns out to be evil, then it can create more havoc than it's father."

My nostrils flared. "And you're here to do the witches' bidding."

Bonnie's grams and my former mentor shook her head and gave me a smile. "I trust you. You'll raise that child well and it'll do good. I can't think of anyone better."

I smiled at her. My phone beeped as a text came through. I pulled out my phone to look at it.

_Elena: Jeremy's back. At the cemetary._

It took four words to make my heart flip with happiness. "My brother's alive."

"You go. I'll wait for Bonnie. Do me proud, Lucy."

I nodded. "I will."

I rushed out of the chamber and to the cemetary.

Bonnie was talking to Stefan and Damon. "You need to get rid of Silas' body."

"Well, there's a slight problem, Medusa. Even though you turned him into stone, if he gets one more drop of blood he's back to his old mind tricks," Damon said.

"We could drop his body in the middle of the ocean," I suggested. "Where no one will find him."

I saw Elena come up behind Bonnie. "Bonnie?" Said witch turned around. "I don't know what to say."

Bonnie shrugged nonchal. "You don't have to say anything."

"But I was so horrible to you," Elena said.

"You weren't you. I know what that's like. I wasn't me for a long time. We can talk about that later." She smiled at Jeremy. _Jeremy. _Oh my God! Jeremy! "You've got some catching up to do."

I rushed over to him and wrapped him in my arms, squeezing him tightly. He gasped for air. "Hey! Lucy! I may be dead but I still need to breathe!" Jeremy wheezed, laughing.

I loosened up slightly, but still hugged him. Tears pooled up in my eyes. "I've missed you so, so much Jeremy."

"I know," he told him, stroking my hair. "I've been watching over you."

"Then you know how much shit I've gotten myself into," I said.

He pulled back from the hug and grinned. "A whole lot of shit."

I shook my head, amused. "So much shit."

My baby brother turned towards the Bennett witch. "Thank you, Bonnie."

She smiled at us. "I'll give you guys as much time as I can." Bonnie and Jeremy embraced. "But I have to go put the veil back up."

Bonnie left. "I should, ah, make sure Kol's body is somewhere safe until the veil goes back up," Stefan said, making to leave.

"Stefan, wait-"

Stefan turned around and nodded to Elena, knowing what she was going to say. "Welcome back." He smiled at her and she smiled back.

There was something between Elena and Stefan, something that would never go away. As much as Stefan cared about me, he'd always care about her more. Elena was Stefan's 'epic love'.

"There isn't enough time," Elena said to Damon.

"It'll never be enough time."

"Damon, I'm sorry that-"

He held up a hand. "Stop. The most important thing right now for the two of you is Jeremy, and saying goodbye."

Elena looked back to Jeremy and hugged him. Jeremy and Elena looked to me, stretching out an arm. I rolled my eyes and wrapped my arms around them both.

* * *

_**A/N: Jeremy's back!**_

One more chapter left in this story then it's the Originals. 

_**Review!**_


	23. Tearful Goodbyes

_Tearful Goodbyes_

Alaric moaned as he ate a hamburger. "Mm. Oh, my god."

Elena laughed. "Mm..." Jeremy moaned as well.

"You've been deprived of greasy goods for too long, my friend," I commented.

"You have no idea how much I've missed this." He gripped the bottle of bourbon. "And this." Elena snatched the bottle from him. "No, hey. Hey!"

Elena took a swig of the bourbon. "She just got her humanity back. Let her live a little," Jeremy said.

He reached for the bottle, but Elena - going all authority figure - held it away from him. "Hey, you wish."

"I'm dead – what are they gonna do, throw me in juvie?" Jeremy asked.

"Well, at least you'd have a place to live." Ric grinned.

Elena and I grabbed some of the food and threw it at them. "You both suck!" Elena said, smiling.

"Hey! Now there it is – that smile. I wasn't sure we were gonna see that again," the alcoholic history teacher commented.

Elena's smiled turned sad, and her eyes glistened with tears. "I did some pretty terrible things." She took a shaky breath.

"Hey, no. No tears. If Caroline was right, we only have until tonight. We need a no-crying rule," Jeremy said.

"But the crying's good. It means that I'm finally feeling something, and right now I..." She held both of their hands in hers. "I feel happy."

I smiled sadly at them. If only this could last and we'd be one questionable family - a typical atypical family - again. Why did Esther have to choose Alaric? Why did Jeremy have to be a hunter? We lost too much already and then the last two family members we had left were taken from us.

Elena unclasped their hands. Alaric looked to me. "We have some serious talking to do, young lady. What were you th-" I gave him a 'shut the hell up' look, since Elena didn't know. "_Thinking _not ordering chicken wings?"

I sighed in relief and smiled gratefully at him. Elena looked suspicious. "Something's going on here. You've been acting weird and now they are two. Tell me."

Saved by the phone. Elena groaned and took it out. "It's the Grill – it must be Matt." She pressed the 'answer' button. "Hey, you went AWOL this morning. What happened?"

A couple seconds later, Elena's eyes widened and she gaped.

"I don't know where they are, so I guess I can't help you..." Alaric signaled that he'd do something and Elena nodded. "Please, don't hurt anyone. I'll find Silas and I'll get the cure."

* * *

"You know," Jeremy started, outside of my room as I got changed into my cap and gown, "I've think I've sprained my vocal chords from yelling at you so many times on the Other Side?"

I laughed and placed the cap of my head. "Is that even possible?"

Jeremy chuckled. "You've screwed up a lot."

Sighing, I opened the door to him. "I know. I've screwed up in so many ways, but you have too so no judging," I warned, grinning. I did a twirl in my graduation outfit. "What do you think?"

"You'll look like everyone else there," Jeremy said. "But at least you're alive for today."

"And proud of it." The corner of my mouth twitched upwards as I studied his face. "What do you think of all this? Of me being... you know-"

"Pregnant with the guy who's tried to kill us repeatedly's child?" I groaned and nodded. "Surprisingly okay, actually. I think it has something to do with you naming it after me."

I gaped. "You heard that?"

He nodded. "I've heard a lot of things. I've seen them too... and I'm warning you, Lucy, if you try to kill yourself again, I'll come back from the dead and murder you myself."

"That defeats the purpose."

Jeremy shrugged. "And if you sleep with another Original-"

"Wait, Jer, did you _see _that?" I asked, frightened and shocked at the prospect of my brother seeing... _uh_... _Ew!_

He shook his head fiercely. "No. Ew... God no. _Ew_!"

"My thoughts exactly," I said. "We don't talk about this ever again."

"Agreed."

I laughed. "Come on, let's go find Elena."

* * *

We found Elena in Damon's bedroom with said Salvatore.

"Elena-" Damon enclosed the cure in her hand. "-take the damn thing. I want you to take it."

Elena hesitated, but gave it back to Damon. "I can't."

Damon looked almost saddened. "Well, I guess that answers the sire bond question." Jeremy moved and the floorboard creaked. "You two gonna help a brother out, or are you just gonna lurk?"

Our sister turned around to see us.

I shrugged. "It's her choice."

"Did you mean what you said? In the cellar? About me being a vampire?"

I shook my head. "No. I was upset."

She tilted her head to the side. "One hell of a mood-swing."

"Well she is preg-" Jeremy caught himself, but finished his sentence while still in shock. "-nant." I elbowed him in the gut and he grunted in pain. "Sorry."

"That's why you've been acting so weird." Elena's face broke into a smile. "You're pregnant. Who's the dad?"

"We don't have time for this now," I said. "We have a graduation to go to and a cure to talk about."

"But-"

Jeremy was my saviour. "Look, Elena. You're my sister and I love you, no matter what you choose."

"How is it even when you're dead, you're the bane of my existence?" Damon snapped. He raised an eyebrow at me. "I'm wondering... you got the innocent, pure Lucy to loosen up and let her hair down?"

"Not now, Damon," I growled.

He shot me a sardonic grin, but quickly switched his attention to Elena. "We don't need the cure for Silas – he's a calcified statue."

Damon groaned. "What was that?" Elena pressed.

"Nothing," he insisted.

"Take off your shirt."

"Elena, there are children present," Damon scolded.

"Fine." She pulled down the collar of his shirt almost viciously to expose the wound on his should. He cringed in pain. "Damon, why hasn't this healed?"

"Because the bullet was laced with werewolf venom, okay? The hunters are dicks."

Elena began to pace. "We need Klaus. We need his blood. Lucy, you have to get Klaus-"

"Klaus would rather see me die. Plus, Klaus is a thousand miles away sipping Hurricanes on Bourbon Street," Damon interrupted.

"That wound will kill you!"

"What about the cure?" Jeremy suggested. I could see he was delighted at the idea of a human Damon.

"Jeremy's right. If you're human, the werewolf venom won't hurt you," Elena said.

"And here I was, so moved by your speech to save mankind," Damon mocked. "Sounds like Vaughn's awake."

He walked past us and out the door. "Damon, wait," Elena said, before she left, she turned to me. "Call Klaus. Please. For me."

I nodded and she smiled, following Damon.

* * *

"Klaus freakin' Mikaelson, I swear to God, if you don't get here right now and save Damon's ass I will kill you. Metaphorically speaking, considering if you die everyone I love dies..." I sighed heavily. "Just get the hell over here... please."

I put my phone in my pocket. "My brother will come. He never could resist the pretty Lucinda Gilbert."

I spun around on my heel. Kol, Klaus' brother, was smirking at me. "My brother hasn't mourned me very much. He certainly hasn't avenged my death and for what? A one night stand with a witch he's been chasing? It's pathetic, really. I've heard about your condition. Consider this me getting my revenge... hitting two birds with the one stone."

Looking around me, I saw that no one was here in the hallway. At least no one would have to face the wrath of the crazy Kol Mikaelson.

As he approached me, I backed away, suddenly feeling very powerless. "You'd kill your own niece or nephew? That's cruel. Even for you."

He scoffed. "That child means nothing to me." His hand gripped my neck and I gasped for breath. "I wonder how Klaus will feel when he discovers I've killed his precious little Lucy and his hybrid baby... how Elena and Jeremy Gilbert will feel when they find out their sister and her unborn child are dead. And I'll have front row seats. Isn't it exciting?"

I coughed weakly. "You're a monster," I wheezed.

His expression darkened. "You watched me die and caused the death of my entire bloodline - hundreds of thousands of vampires _slaughtered _because of your family's selfish desires. You're just as much of a monster as I am." A smirk crossed his features that were so similar to Elijah's. "And those twelve witches you killed to save Bonnie. Tut, tut. I'm ashamed. I thought you were the good one." His grip tightened. "I guess I was wrong."

There was only one thing I could do. It was worth a try.

I clenched my fist and he cried out in pain. I had never harmed an Original like this before. Usually, they would grunt for about a moment before recovering and attacking me. It felt spectacular. There was all this power rushing through me, but it felt like... it felt like it wasn't mine.

"Witch! Stop this!" Kol yelled.

I stepped away from him, leaving him in the High School hallway. A mistake I would later regret. I should have done something to stop him.

Bonnie was staring at the stage. She looked sentimental. "What's up?" I asked her, worried.

She shook her head and smiled. "Nothing. I'm... I'm fine."

Bonnie always did prefer handling things on her own. She didn't like other people helping her. That was something we had in common, her more than me, though.

Caroline approached us. "Where is everyone?"

Matt arrived all of a sudden. "I'm here."

"Where have you been?" Caroline questioned.

"Oh, you know, making plans for the summer, dodging death by vampire hunter," Matt answered.

I smiled. "So... the ushe?"

"Where's Elena?" Bonnie asked. "We can't do this without her."

As if on cue, Elena walked up to us along with Stefan. "I'm here." She hugged Bonnie. "Thank you for today."

"I can't believe it. We're actually all here. We are all here together!" Caroline exclaimed. Bonnie was crying beside me. "Bonnie Bennett, are you crying?"

"It's our last hurrah before you guys go off to college," she sobbed.

"Before _we _go off to college," Caroline corrected.

"I... kinda sorta missed the deadline. You know, being an emotionless bitch," Elena said.

"Well, the perks of being a vampire – we can go wherever we wanna go. We can choose our own roommates. We could – we could get a triple room!" Caroline said enthusiastically.

Stefan, Elena and I laughed at Caroline, not unkindly. Bonnie smiled, tears pooled in her eyes.

"I'm happy we're all here," Bonnie said.

There was something... off about Bonnie. She wasn't always this sentimental. That was Caroline or Elena.

"_Aw_!" Caroline exclaimed. "Group hug!"

"Ah, I don't – I don't hug..." Stefan stated.

I rolled my eyes. "Get in here, big guy."

The six of us wrapped our arms around each other. This was our last day in high school. This was my last few days here... in Mystic Falls. There was no doubt in my mind that I would return, after the whole baby business was over.

Bonnie's dad, Mayor Hopkins walked onto the stage. "Welcome parents, family, and friends. What a beautiful day for a graduation. Thank you for joining us today on this special day, as we celebrate our graduates. So let's get started. John Albrecht. David Bance. Sarah Beasley. Um, not to play favorites, but I am especially proud of this next graduate, my lovely daughter: Bonnie Bennett!"

Bonnie went up to the stage and hugged her dad.

"Savannah Davis. Matt Donovan. William Duncan. Caroline Forbes. Congratulations."

They all collected their diplomas and sat down.

"Matt Freeman. Elena Gilbert. Lucinda Gilbert. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Elena said, receiving her diploma before me.

The Mayor shook my hand and smiled, handing me the diploma. "Well done."

"Thank you." I smiled at him.

I walked away from the seated audience and the students receiving their diplomas and dialed Klaus' number again. The Mayor continued to call out the names.

* * *

"Klaus, this is like the one hundredth voice-mail I've left, but I'm _begging_ - yes, _begging _- you to save Damon's life. Call me as soon as you can."

"Okay, just hang on a little longer. Lucy's calling Klaus again," Stefan said, on the phone to Alaric.

I hung up and shook my head sadly. Suddenly, there a sharp noise, Stefan, Caroline, Elena and I clutched our heads.

"Remember us, Lucy?"

She thrusted her arm out towards me. The pain was becoming unbearable, until it stopped all of a sudden. I looked up to see a headless Aja, her body falling to the floor. All of the other witches gaped in shock and fear.

"There are plenty more of these to go around. Who's next? I can do this all day."

I smiled when I realised who's voice that was.

* * *

"How d'you get here so fast?" I questioned Klaus, frowning. "You didn't answer any of my calls."

"I was already on my way. I might have took a trip after dropping you off. There was no way I was missing your special day." I raised an eyebrow. He took out a piece of paper from the inside pocket of his coat. "I received your graduation announcement. It was... very subtle." I shut my eyes tightly, smiling. "I want to apologise for my behaviour."

My head shot up, grinning madly. "You're _apologising_?" I asked, feigning over-exaggerated shock. "I never thought I'd see the day."

He chuckled. "I apologise when it's due. This..." He glanced to my abdomen. "Took a while to come around to."

I exhaled loudly through my nose. "You're telling me."

"As a graduation gift and a 'please forgive me' present-" I laughed. "I've cured Damon and... you can inform your friends that Tyler is now free to return to Mystic Falls."

"Seriously?" He nodded. I smiled widely and happily. "Thank you."

He slowly walked towards me and kissed my cheek. "It's the least I could do. Congratulations, Lucy." My smile only widened at his quoting of what I had said to him when he was back in the house. "Let's get out of here, before twelve angry hybrids decide to pick a fight."

* * *

"You're really leaving," I said, avoiding Stefan's eyes. "Would you have stayed? For Elena?"

"Yes," he answered honestly. My stomach fell to the floor. "But I would have stayed for you too. My place isn't in New Orleans, watching Klaus have the one thing I want the most. It's having a life of my own, somewhere far from Mystic Falls."

I smiled at him. "You deserve it... and as much as I want you with me - I want you to be happy."

He smiled back at me and kissed my forehead. "I'll see you again."

I nodded. "I'll see you again too."

There was one thing I wanted to ask, but I feared the answer.

Did he love me more than Elena?

* * *

I finished packing up my stuff. I didn't have much since most of my clothes had burnt in the fire.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked, entering my room.

"New Orleans," I answered, folding a dress and placing it in the bag.

"With Klaus?" she questioned.

"With Klaus."

She didn't reply for a while. I struggled to shut the suitcase and had to sit on it to close it. It wasn't a very large one, just enough to fit everything I needed. I had enough money to buy whatever else.

"Lucy," Elena started. I turned towards her. "Who... who's the baby's father?"

I took a deep breath, slightly afraid of her reaction. "Klaus."

Her eyes became like tennis balls as her mouth fell. "Klaus. _Klaus_. You slept with Klaus?"

I let out a shaky laugh. "I love how it's easier to believe that I'm pregnant with a miracle baby than it is that I slept with Klaus."

"He's a horrible person, Lucy," she said. "He's tried to kill all of us. He killed Jenna!"

"You don't think I know that?" I exclaimed, almost shouting. "But it's not like we're saints. We killed two of his brothers! But it doesn't matter, because we're the 'good guys.'"

She sighed sadly. "Look, I don't like Klaus, and I never will, but he's kind to you. He won't hurt you. And you're pregnant... with his child. Which is pretty damn unbelievable." She smiled. "I'm going to become an aunt."

"So this is where the goodbyes are?"

"Jeremy!" I ran into his arms and engulfed him in another bone-breaking hug. "I thought Bonnie put the veil up?"

"She resurrected me before she did."

I let go of him. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she - uh - she went to visit her mom for the holidays."

I nodded. "That's good. She's had a tougher time than any of us." A full-on grin embraced my features. "You're back! You're _actually _back for good! Don't you dare die on me again!"

This was more difficult now that Jeremy was back. But I still had no choice. I had to go. But it sucked leaving just after he was resurrected.

Jeremy laughed. "New Orleans, huh? Make sure to send me a postcard."

"I'll call you every day." He raised an eyebrow. "Fine, once every _other _day. Both of you. Don't get in any trouble while I'm gone."

Elena snorted. "That's impossible to do."

"Make it possible," I said.

Elena bit her lip while Jeremy shifted from foot to foot awkwardly. I pursed my lips. I didn't want to leave them. It felt bad to leave them.

"So this is goodbye," Elena stated, tears in her eyes. God! There were too many tears today.

I nodded, tears welled up my eyes too. I didn't want to cry, but between pregnancy hormones and a pretty heartwrenching goodbye, I didn't have a choice.

"I'll miss you guys," I sobbed.

Elena embraced me. Jeremy soon joined in our hug, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling us closer.

I didn't know what New Orleans had for me. All that I knew, was that I was ready for it.

* * *

_**A/N: The sequel has been up for a few days now. It's called 'A Touch of Hope'. I plan to update the next chapter within the next few days. The first chapter is basically chapter twenty of this story. **_

_**Thank you so, so much to everyone who has follow, favourite and reviewed this story. It means a lot. This is my longest fanfiction and the only one I've completed - other than one-shots. I think there will be visits back to Mystic Falls in the sequel. She won't be completely out of their lives. Oh - and phone calls, of course!**_

_**Love you guys!**_


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